Transcript Chapter 1 – Nation & Identity Are nation and identity related?

Related Issue 1
Should nation be the foundation of identity?
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Read this section. After you finish reading,
briefly answer the following questions:
 In what ways is a national identity similar to and
individual identity?
 What are some of the factors that influence
national identity?
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We will discuss as a class.
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With a partner, discuss responses to
the following questions:
 What does the photograph tell us
about Canada’s national identity?
 What does it tell us about the fans’
individual identity?
NATIONAL
INDIVIDUAL
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Explore – to inquire and investigate
thoroughly
Analyze – to break down into parts and
examine in detail, the examine critically, and
to indicate which elements are essential
Evaluate - to assess or appraise
Explain - to present a position that is well
expressed, well supported and persuasive
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Keenan and his brother, Matt, wear their finest
Canadian apparel for the 2007 Canada Day parade in
Montreal. Many Canadians feels a source of pride in
their country. Some express their pride openly,
while others simply enjoy a sense of belonging.
Have you participated in Canada Day celebrations?
Did you dress up?
 Are people who dress up more patriotic than those
who don’t?
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Nation
 Latin meaning “people” or “race”
 People who feel a sense of belonging together
 They want to control their own destiny
 A nation may not have official borders or
government
 EX:
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Country
 The world has over 190 official countries
 A country is a geographic area with specific
borders
 The borders and government of a country are
recognized by other countries
 EX:
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Is Canada mainly a country or mainly a
nation?
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Does it matter if Canada is defined as a nation
or country?
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How might a person’s idea of nation affect his
or her identity?
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Historica Minute
Before this battle, Canadian army divisions
had always fought separately. This was the
first time they fought as a single unit.
They were successful and captured a vital
military position that the armies of Britain
and France couldn’t.
Created a sense of Nationalism.
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This article by Michael Valpy explores how
the victory at Vimy Ridge became part of our
national identity – and questions whether this
is a myth.

Many call this Canada’s “creation story.”
 Do you agree?
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Are there any other possible stories?
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Nation-State
 Means “country”
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International
 Between countries or nation-states
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Nationalism
 Striving for a country
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Johann Gottlieb Fichte
 Shared identity; people who share the same
ancestors, culture & language
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Benedict Anderson
 A community that is imagined
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Ernest Renan
 Nation begins with shared roots, but you also
need the peoples’ soul
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Clement Chartier
 Métis nation has its own identity, language,
culture, way of life and self-government
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Explorations, Pg. 22
 Complete Questions 1 & 2 on the sheet provided
and put in your NN.
 Be sure to write the date of the entry.
1. Which idea most closely matched with your
thinking about nation? Explain.
2. Which idea most closely matches your
understanding of Canada? Explain.
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Using terms like “we”, “us” and “our” shows
that we are thinking collectively
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Although it is good to think in terms of a
collective identity, it may also cause “us” to
think of other groups as “them”
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Patriotism
 Love of country or nation
 May spark extreme nationalism or heroism
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Q: Would you die for your country?
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Recall…Reflect…Respond (Pg. 24)
Question 1
 Brainstorm a list of words and phrases that
describe nation.
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Brainstorm ideas individually, then share
them as a group.
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Rate ideas individually on a scale of 1 to 5
 1 = this idea matched my idea of Canada
 5 = this idea does not match my idea
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Language
 English is first language for 480 million people
 In Quebec, French is first for 80%
 November 2006 – the Canadian government
recognized Quebecois as a nation (the people not
the province)
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Q: Why is this important?
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Ethnicity
 Racial, cultural, national or linguistic
characteristics
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Culture
 The way of life that people share
 First Nations may have distinct cultures, which
help form their identity as a nation
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Religion
 EXAMPLE
 Israel is the embodiment of Jewish continuity; the
only nation on Earth that inhabits the same land,
bears the same name, speaks the same language
and worships the same God as it did 3000 years
ago
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Geography
 Mountains, oceans & deserts are physical barriers
that isolate people, causing them to develop their
own ways
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Relationship to Land
 Different areas provide different resources which
influence the way people live
 Q: What examples can you think of from Canada’s
provinces?
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Spirituality
 May feel a spiritual connection to land because it
may be:
▪ “home”
▪ where you ancestors are from
▪ where something important may have happened
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Q: Can you think of a place that you feel this
sort of connection to?
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Politics
 Sovereignty
▪ The political authority to control their own affairs (as in a
country or group)
▪ Also called self-determination
▪ The power to make your own decisions
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Explorations, Pg. 29
 Complete Questions 1 & 2 on the sheet provided
and put in your NN
 Draw a picture next to each “Understandings of
Nation” to help you remember them well.
 Be sure to write the date of the entry.
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“In the psychological sense, there is no
Canadian nation…There is a legal and
geographical entity, but the nation does not
exist. For there are no objects that all
Canadians share as objects of national
feelings.
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What does this statement mean?
What is meant by psychological sense? Entity?
National feeling?
Do you agree with this statement?
Can you name some “objects of national feeling” in
Canada?
Does it matter if there are objects of “national”
feeling? Why or why not?
Could a lack of these objects be defined as
Canadian?
Could this lack reflect Canada’s diversity?
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Civic means “related to citizens”
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Based on shared values and beliefs
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Differences in language, ethnicity, culture
and religion do not matter
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Q: Do you believe Canada is a civic nation?
Why or why not?
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A civic nation has:
 Free and fair elections
 A government that reflects the will of the people
 Active Citizenship
 Freedom and Peaceful Assembly
 Freedom of the press
 Equal opportunity for all; the same rights and
responsibilities for all citizens
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Look at the images on Pages 30-31
Examine the photos and we will read the
captions aloud as a class.
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Discuss the following questions:
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 What values and beliefs do these photographs
express?
 Do any make you question the idea of Canada as a
civic nation?
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Discuss the following questions:
 What photograph would you add to show another
aspect of a civic nation? Why?
 Can the idea of a civic nation ever become a
reality? How – or why not?
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Constitution
 Legal document that lays out the basic rules the
society is built upon
 Canada’s is the Charter of Rights & Freedoms
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Fundamental Freedoms
 a) conscience and religion
 b) thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and media
 c) peaceful assembly
 d) association
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Can you think of an example for the following
freedoms?
 a) conscience and religion
 EX:
 b) thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and media
 EX:
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Can you think of an example for the following
freedoms?
 c) peaceful assembly
 EX:
 d) association
 EX:
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Civic Nationalism
 Sense of nation emerges only after a nation-state
has been created
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Ethnic Nationalism
 Sense of nation based on shared ethnicity,
language and culture
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Page 34
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Read as a class.
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Discuss questions as a class.
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Think…Participate…Research…Communicate
 Pg. 38
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Question 1 (a & b)
 Complete Questions 1 & 2 on the sheet provided and put
in your NN.
 Be sure to write the date of the entry.