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An introduction to intercultural competence in the workplace
An introduction to intercultural competence in the workplace

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7 Banal nationalism

It seems natural to most of us to have a specific national identity and to be fluent in the official language of our country. Out of all the identities you have read about in this week, national identity seems often be understood as the most defining and central aspect of our own culture. When studying intercultural communication, it is very easy to fall into the trap of equating nationality with culture (often called a ‘culture-as-nation’ approach). We assume that we share the same national identity with anyone who was born in the same country as us and we tend to assign such homogeneity to people born in other countries. By doing so, we do not only overlook how diverse every country is: we also accept state ideologies as natural facts.

The concept of the national state is relatively new; our understanding of borders, citizenship and legitimate leadership would not have made sense to people who lived in our hometowns a few centuries ago. They might also not have understood what language we are speaking now. In order to be able to critically evaluate how national identity affects our own and others’ sense of culture, we can try to take a step back and look at national identity, nationalism and national symbols and myths as something strange, or constructed, instead of seeing them as normal aspects of everyday life.

Especially helpful with starting to question every day, mundane practices as assumptions are Michael Billig (who coined the term ‘Banal Nationalism’) and Benedict Anderson (who refers to national states as ‘Imagined communities’). Both scholars outline how national states were created in modern history. Anderson’s focus lies on the processes that lead to a feeling of community with people we have never seen or met, who grew up in different regions from us, and might speak in a different language or dialect that could be unintelligible to us at home. Michael Billig problematises how we speak and think about nationalism; we tend to use the term only for others who attempt to force radical changes to sovereign states already in existence, and do not apply it to sentiments towards our own national state.

Nationalism is used for attempts to achieve independence, secession, or reunification, but once such processes are completed, where do nationalist sentiments go? Billig claims that they remain and are reproduced in everyday routines, leading to “remembering without conscious awareness” (Billig 1995 p. 42). It is important to note that Billig does not understand nationalism as a social movement but as an ideology which permits national states to exist and to be upheld. This ideology has become common sense or taken for granted. Billig also argues that this naturalised nationalism is often overlooked when studying national identity and nationalism. He illustrates this by describing the different uses and functions of national flags.

Activity 9

Timing: 40 minutes

Read this text on waved and unwaved flags [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   and answer the following questions.

  1. How does Michael Billig explain the difference between symbol and signal with regards to flags?

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Discussion

The flag as a signal has a pragmatic use. It does not convey a sentiment but conveys a practical message, for example marking which ship in a fleet carries the commander. National flags today mostly carry a symbolic function. This is for instance the case during protests, where the flag symbolises that the group carrying it are ‘true’ national citizens, or when a flag hung at half-mast communicates that an individual who has passed away was important to the nation. Billig (1995) furthermore states that flags which aim to signal a particular message are consciously noticed, whereas a flag as a symbol does not carry a clear message to which people need to respond.

  1. What is a mindless flag?

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Discussion

Billig (1995) uses this phrase to describe flags that go unnoticed. Looking at ‘routine’ flags that are stitched to jackets of officials or hung from buildings does not initiate a conscious remembering or response. This does not mean that people would not notice if those flags were changed or removed, however.

  1. Consider the example of Belfast given in the text. With the city divided politically between unionists (who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom) and nationalists (who want Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to unify), and Protestants and Catholics respectively, single neighbourhoods use flags to express which side they are on in this ongoing conflict.

Think about how your country’s national flag is used. Can you think of some examples? Where is the use of the flag ‘routine’ and unnoticed, and on what occasions do flags carry a specific message?

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Discussion

Citizens psychologically identify with a nation through the internalisation of national symbols as well as of a grand narrative which gives historical events a meaningful coherence and offers a collective sense of creation and purpose. Such narratives include ‘social myths’ which distinguish one nation from another and appeal to the ‘collective self’ of the nation.

In this second activity, you will first read an example for a social myth before thinking about one that you are familiar with due to your own national culture. The following story is told by people identifying as Syrian-Lebanese in Brazil.

The Legend of the Town of Marataízes

There once was a group of peddlers who sold their wares in the interior of Espírito Sant, going from place to place by mule. One of the peddlers was named Aziz and his wife (a colloquial Arabic word for “wife” is “marat”) was considered the leader of the women who stayed behind as the men went out to sell their goods. These women went out every day to wash clothes in a place called the “Turkish bath.” Over time, the town that grew up around the place where the women washed their clothes came to be called Marataízes in honor of the wife (“marat”) of Aziz.

(Lesser, 2013)

This myth allows Brazilians of Middle Eastern descent to claim that their Brazilian nationality is original or authentic. The symbols like the Monumento Amizade Sírio-libanesa strengthen this notion as it portrays the arrival of Syrian and Lebanese migrants in Brazil and their positive impact.

Have a look at the image of the monument and read the explanation below.

Described image

Community leaders understood that nationalist rhetoric contained the discursive space to promote Arab-Brazilian identity. A campaign to raise money to build a monument to the Syrian-Lebanese community led to donations from rich and poor, from immigrant and Brazilian-born. The sculptor could have been a nobody and the statue could have been stuck at the end of a little street. Instead, Ettore Ximenes, a renowned Italian sculptor whose work was associated with Brazilian nationalism, was commissioned to build a monument that would be placed in São Paulo’s Parque Dom Pedro II, the most prestigious government area in Brazil’s largest city. For everyone involved, a monument by Ximenes in the Parque Dom Pedro II represented the pinnacle of achievement.

“Amizade Syrio-Libanesa” (Syrian-Lebanese Friendship) was a 50-foot tower of bronze and granite. The base was divided into four sections. Each of three sides contained relieves representing “Syrian” contributions to world culture: the Phoenicians as pioneers of navigation, Haitam I’s discovery of the Canary Islands, and the teaching of the alphabet. The fourth side was the “symbol of Arab penetration in Brazil,” represented by the “the commerce [that has led to] great prosperity.” The top of the monument was composed of three life-sized figures. At the back stood a female figure representing the Brazilian Republic, “whose glory is the glory of the Brazilian fatherland.” In front of her a “pure Syrian maiden” offers a gift to her “Brazilian brother,” an indigenous warrior, “with the same love with which she was welcomed upon arriving in this land blessed by God.”

(Lesser, 2013)

Can you think of a national myth that you learned in school, from family members or elsewhere about your home country? How does it make you feel?

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