Nation and IdentityIntroduction

Ancient Greeks and the Otherso Hellenic Culture versus the Barbarianso “Whoever is not a Greek is a Barbarian”o Barbarians=the term is not specific but refers

to everything not Greeko Barbarophonoi=these of incomprehensible

speech o ‘bah-bah’ the language of the Barbarianso The use of the term does not imply that the

Greeks despised everything alieno On the contrary, they respected the

antiquity of the civilizations of Egypt, Persia, Phoenicia and Mesopotamia

The Barbarian stereotypeo The Barbarians cannot speak

proper Greeko They cannot be trusted, they are

dishonest and lasciviouso They are cowards and

effeminateo They cannot govern themselves

properly

Greekness according to Herodotuso “There is our common Greekness: we

are all one in blood and one in language, those shrines of the godsbelong to us all in common, and the sacrifices in common, and there are our habits, bred of a common upbringing.”

o Raceo Languageo Religiono Customs

Herodotus and Cultural Relativismo Cultural Relativism =all cultural

practices must be evaluated within the context of the practicing culture.

o Although Herodotus does not use the term specifically in his History, yet he was the first who introduced the idea that there are no inferior cultures only different ones.

Greek Identity according to Isocrates

o “Athens has become the teacher of the cities and has made the name of Greek no longer a mark of race but of intellect, so that it is those who have our upbringing rather than our common nature who are called Hellenes.”

Greek Identity according to Isocrates

o Isocrates tries to modify or define the Greek identity based on kinship and culture.

o Culture=language, religion, customs, material culture etc.

o Greek is whoever shares the Greek culture

o One major influence on the different perspective of Greekness by Isocrates is the geographical expansion of Greece under the Alexander the Great

The Concept of Nationo According to the current political

thinking, there are two main models of nation:

o (a) the territorial and civic model

o (b) the ethnic-genealogicalmodel.

The Concept of Nationo Ernest Renan (1823–1892) French

philosopher and writer. o Qu'est-ce qu'une nation? ("What

is a Nation?" o before Renan the definition of

the nation was based on “objective” criteria such as race, ethnic group, common characteristics (language etc.)

The Concept of Nationo Renan defined Nation by the desire of

a people to live together, which he summed up in the well known phrase, "avoir fait de grandes chosesensemble, vouloir en faire encore" (having done great things together and wishing to do more)

o The nation, according to Renan, is a spiritual principle. Ranan’s perspective is humanistic, since a man does not belong to his language or to his race but rather is part of humanity.

The Concept of Nationo Nation is "a group of people united by

a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbors."

o If "the essential element of a nation is that all its individuals must have many things in common," they "must also have forgotten many things. Every French citizen must have forgotten the night of St. Bartholomew and the massacres in the thirteenth century in the South."

The Concept of Nationo Anthony Smith English theorist of

nationalism Ethnic Past,

o Nation a community based on the common predecessors, the common descent of the different ethnic groups and their native culture.

o Common Identity and Shared History

The Concept of Nationo Anthony Smith seems to agree

with Renar that many nationalisms are based on historically flawed interpretations of past events while at the same time tend to overly idealize small, inaccurate parts of their history.

The Concept of Nationo The theory of Renan belongs to the

territorial and civic model.o According to this model historic

territory, legal-political community, legal-political equality, and common civic culture and ideology are necessary for the formation of a nation.

o The theory of Anthony Smith belongs to the ethnic-genealogical model.

o According to this model common identity and shared history are necessary for the formation of a nation.

Food for though

o On what model has the American nation been based?