Sport, nationalism and identity. Cultural Identity An overview.
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Transcript of Sport, nationalism and identity. Cultural Identity An overview.
Sport, nationalis
m and identity
Cultural Identity
An overview
Cultural Identity
There is nothing static or unchanging about concepts of identity. They are historically contingent
Different times, different structures produce different understandings of identity
Cultural Identity
How we understand identity today is very different from how it was understood in the past, and may well no longer apply in the future
How we understand it in the west may not apply today in other parts of the globe
Cultural Identity
We are encouraged in contemporary society to think of identity as something which is within us, and which we radiate outwards
Contemporary theories of identity, however, argue that (1) our identities are constrained by external structures over which we may have little control, and…
Cultural Identity
(2) that we essentially “build” our identities using a range of resources already existing outside us
Since the resources we use are provided by the culture in which we live, our identities are therefore by definition cultural
Cultural Identity
Since the cultural resources of our society are not just available to us, but are more generally available (even if not equally to all), however “different” we might think we are our identities are made up from the same resources as other people, even if we put these together in a slightly different way
Cultural Identity
At the level of group identities we can, despite the current focus on “uniqueness” (“be yourself”), agree to use similar resources to differentiate ourselves as a group from other groups
Collective identities
Football is traditionally a site of both male and working class identities
Ballet, on the other hand, is traditionally a site of female and middle-class or upper-class identities
Collective identities
Opera is a site of middle-class, middle-aged identity, and so on
Though uncommon in Europe, some of the world’s largest events are sites of religious identity
Collective identities
The concept of “group” can on occasions expand to mean “nation”, and frequently does so in relation to sport
Cultural Identity
A Brief History
Cultural Identity - a brief history
During the Middle Ages the central form of collective identity was membership of an Estate: the peasantry, the nobility, the clergy - status was more important than individuality
Cultural Identity - a brief history
Nature was thought of as a “Great Chain of Being”, from the smallest creature all the way up to God
You were allocated a place in this chain at birth, and movement - “upward mobility” - was impossible
Cultural Identity - a brief history
When capitalism swept away the structures of feudalism and ushered in “modernity” new concepts of identity appeared
With its ideological emphasis on enterprise, the bourgeoisie developed the concept of the “bounded individual” simultaneously with notions of class-based and nation-based identities
Cultural Identity - a brief history
As we move into postmodernity the concept of identity is changing again
To a large extent the idea of a single identity is being replaced by multiple identities
We can stage one identity as a football fan, and a quite different one elsewhere
Sport and National Identity
Sport and National Identity
Sports as we now know them were likewise the product of emerging modernity, and have as a result been connected from the outset with both concepts of class and nation
During the period of expansion of the British Empire British businessmen took their sports with them, spreading football, rugby, cricket and even polo to many parts of the globe
Sport and National Identity
Some countries (Canada, the United States) stressed their independence by adapting these games and producing new versions
Others (India, the Caribbean islands) attempted to beat the metropolis “at its own game”)
Sport and National Identity
Sporting mega-events are sites of multiple identity formation
Football world cups combine national identity with male identity and (decreasingly) working-class identities
Sport and National Identity
Wimbledon tournaments combine national identity with broadly speaking middle-class identity
Their common denominator, however, is almost always the presence (however indirect) of signs of national identity
Sport and National Identity
Most such events make use of conventional symbols of the nations (flags, national anthems, national costume and the like) in displays of explicit nationalism
Even where these are absent (Wimbledon) media coverage operates as if they were there
Sport and National Identity
In fact media coverage invariably presents sportpersons in international competitions as representatives of their “nation”
Governments can invest huge amounts of money in attempts to present a certain image of their nation
Sport and National Identity
Tensions can arise from various sources
Political competition This was particularly acute during the
Cold War, but is still visible today Poor performances are often
interpreted by the press as “humiliating”
Sport and National Identity
Internal conflict Great tension can arise when there is
conflict over the definition of the “nation” (Scottish/British, Catalan/ Spanish)
Scottish athletes are appropriated as both “Scottish” and “British”, Catalans as both “Catalan” and “Spanish”
Sport and National Identity
However, national identity can also be staged in the mode of fun
This was particularly visible in Germany in 2006
The most striking example is, however, the Tartan Army
Conclusion
National Identity and Sport
National identity is not a thing (we are not born with it), it is the product of discourses and practices
Sport is a major arena for the staging of practices related to national identity
National Identity and Sport
The media are the major sources of discourses on national identity, and these are particularly visible when reporting on major international sporting events
Sport and media are, therefore, major producers of our sense of what it is to be Scottish, English, Spanish and so on
National Identity and Sport
As is the case will all discourse, however, no single definition emerges
The struggle over which definition should prevail can be bitter
However, practices of national identity can be, and often are, a source of enjoyment and fun
Many Thanks