scholarly journals Orthodoxy and the Formation of Greek National Identity

Chronos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 7-48
Author(s):  
Nikos Chrysoloras
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
The Enlightenment

The aim of this paper is to describe, analyse and explain the historical emergence of nationalism in Greece. Initially, and in accordance with the modernist approach, we will be arguing that the emergence of the nationalist phenomenon in Greece is inseparably linked with the objective conditions of modernity. The emergence of an educated Greek-speaking middle class, the development of trade and industry, and the diffusion of the liberal, secular and scientific spirit of the Enlightenment in the Greek peninsula, were instrumental factors for the construction of the idea of the nation. In that sense, the Greek nation- like every nation- is an historical and social construction, which emerges as a result of the fundamental split between the pre-modern and the modern.

“Suddenly Everyone Started to Love Our Anthem, Our Flag”: Identity Construction, Crisis, and Change in (Almost) Sovereign Kosovo

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-736
Author(s):  
Alissa Boguslaw
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
National Symbols ◽  
The World

AbstractHow, amidst a crisis of sovereignty and identity, did once-rejected national symbols become meaningful to Kosovo’s Albanians? Having declared independence in 2008, a 2014 study found that less than one-third of Kosovo’s citizens identified with their newly adopted state symbols. As meanings are always shifting, depending on the contexts in which their forms appear and the actors involved, theories of social construction have focused on the representational aspects of meaning-making: the ways in which the forms stabilize (or destabilize) the constructs they depict. Instead of focusing on the representational—the determinable, measurable, and rational aspects, this article investigates the discursive mechanisms that mobilize meanings and configure contexts, extending Robin Wagner-Pacifici’s alternative theory of events. Through discourse and semiotic analysis, it tracks Kosovo’s new flag and anthem through the construction, crisis, and transformation of three social realities: political independence, national identity, and the world of international competitive judo, illuminating how changing meanings change, shifting contexts shift, and how to interpret actors’ fleeting emotions. In the Kosovo case, the construction is the crisis, as well as the change.

scholarly journals Of Slaveholders and Renegades: Semantic Uncertainties in Volodymyr Antonovych’s Conversion to Ukrainianness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Herlth
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Historical Fiction ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Present Essay ◽  
Romantic Era ◽  
Landed Gentry

Of Slaveholders and Renegades: Semantic Uncertainties in Volodymyr Antonovych’s Conversion to UkrainiannessIn an article published in the St. Petersburg-based Ukrainian language journal Osnova (Foundation) in 1862, Włodzimierz Antonowicz, formally the descendant of a Polish family from the landed gentry in Ukraine, declared that from then on he would consider himself a Ukrainian. In the present essay, I analyze the polemics around what can be called Antonovych’s conversion from Polishness to Ukrainianness. Antonovych as well as his adversaries brought into play various concepts of nationality and national identity, switching quite freely between various frames of references (political thought of the Enlightenment and the Romantic era, contemporary historical fiction, and historiography). Panowie i renegaci: semantyczne niuanse konwersji Włodzimierza Antonowicza na ukraińskośćW artykule opublikowanym w 1862 roku w petersburskim ukraińskojęzycznym dzienniku „Osnova” Włodzimierz Antonowicz, formalnie potomek polskiej rodziny ziemiańskiej z Ukrainy, oświadczył, że od tego momentu będzie siebie uznawał za Ukraińca. Autor eseju analizuje polemikę wokół tego, co można nazwać konwersją Antonowicza od polskości do ukraińskości. Antonowicz, podobnie jak jego adwersarze, posługiwał się różnymi koncepcjami narodowości i tożsamości narodowej, dość swobodnie przechodząc do odmiennych odniesień w myśli politycznej (Oświecenia i epoki romantyzmu, współczesnej prozie historycznej i historiografii).

scholarly journals The Transnationalism of Swedish and Russian National Theatres in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century: How Foreign Performative Art Sharpened the Aesthetics of National Identity

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Maria Berlova
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
National Identities ◽  
European Countries ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
English Drama ◽  
National Cultures ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
French And English ◽  
Similarities And Differences

In this article, I consider the formation of national theatres in Sweden and Russia under the guidance of King Gustav III and Empress Catherine II. Both Swedish and Russian theatres in the second half of the eighteenth century consolidated their nationalism by appealing to various national cultures and absorbing them. One of the achievements of the Enlightenment was the rise in popularity of theatre and its transnationalism. Several European countries, like Russia, Sweden, Po- land, Hungary and others, decided to follow France and Italy’s example with their older traditions, and participate in the revival of the theatrical arts, while aiming at the same time to preserve their national identities. The general tendency in all European countries of “second theatre culture” was toward transnationalism, i.e. the acceptance of the inter-penetration between the various European cultures with the unavoidable impact of French and Italian theatres. The historical plays of the two royal dramatists – Gustav III and Catherine II – were based on nation- al history and formulated following models of mainly French and English drama. The monarchs resorted to the help of French, Italian and German composers, stage designers, architects, choreographers and actors to produce their plays. However, such cooperation only emphasized Swedish as well as Russian national- ism. Despite many similarities, Gustav III and Catherine II differed somewhat in how each positioned their own brand of nationalism. By delving deeper into the details of the formation of the national theatres by these monarchs, I will explore similarities and differences between their two theatres.

scholarly journals Connotation of “Belonging-Identity” and contemporary appeal under political confucianism

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-453
Author(s):  
Dai Zhicheng
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Effective Mechanism ◽  
Cultural Connotation ◽  
Stable Order ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Moral Nature ◽  
Identity System ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe politicization of Confucianism has always been an important dimension to the practice of Confucian realistic values. Strengthening the concept of national identity with Confucianism can maintain the stable order of the country, then realize the enlightenment of social ethics and promote democratic political reform. Yet, Confucianism does not have a specific way to interpret and realize national identity in its cultural connotation. Instead, it shows some meanings of “belonging-identity” in the relationship among individuals, society, and the country. The key point of Confucian “belonging-identity” is its moral nature. We should take the “Supreme goodness” of Confucianism into actualization, socialization, politicization to re-examine and construct an effective mechanism of national identity. Also, Confucianism belongs not only to China. We can apply the Confucian “belonging-identity” system into other Asian countries with similar cultures to realize harmonious relations among individuals, families, and countries. National identity is more a kind of sense, but if we use it in rational political philosophy, such as Confucianism, it can promote the development of democracy of a country.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 156-174
Author(s):  
Alexander Bukh
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Difference

This chapter summarizes the findings of this book. It draws a number of conclusions regarding the factors that spur the emergence of territorial disputes—related national identity entrepreneurship, and analyzes the factors that account for the difference in the social reception of the narratives in the respective societies. It also outlines the implications of these case studies for our understanding of the social construction of a disputed territory and for the broader constructivist International Relations literature on national identity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document