Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation? Do national identities matter and, if so, to whom? To what extent are processes of globalisation undermining or reinforcin... more abstract Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation? Do national identities matter and, if so, to whom? To what extent are processes of globalisation undermining or reinforcing attachments to the nation? Drawing on insights from sociology, social psychology and anthropology, Michael Skey addresses these complex questions by examining the views and attitudes of a group that has been overlooked in much of the recent literature; the ethnic majority. Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which members of the majority in England discuss their own attachments, their anxieties about the future, and, in particular, their relations with minority groups, Skey demonstrates the link between a more settled sense of national belonging and claims to key material and psycho-social resources. By analysing what is at stake for the majority, the book offers a more complete understanding of recent controversies over immigration, multiculturalism and community cohesion in Western settings, as well as a framework for theorising the significance of nationhood in the contemporary era.

Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, National Identity, Ethnicity, England, and 1 more

Published in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalism and arguably the most influential book on the topic in the last two decades. Focusing on contemporary and everyday exp... more abstractPublished in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalism and arguably the most influential book on the topic in the last two decades. Focusing on contemporary and everyday expressions of nationhood, the study marked a profound shift away from previous attempts to map the transformation to an era of nations and the association of nationalism with political violence, civil conflict and extremist movements. Billig’s arguments have been picked up by scholars working in an impressive range of disciplines as part of the recent turn to the ‘everyday’, and the term ‘banal’ has come to form a short hand for the study of the ways in which particular representations, forms of social organisation and cultural practice become normalised and taken-for-granted. While, however, there have been numerous journal papers and monographs that have made reference to Billig’s work, there has yet to be an in-depth, critical and comprehensive evaluation of the study or how it has impacted on both studies of nationalism and the social sciences as a whole. In the latter case, it’s worth noting that the Banal Nationalism thesis has not been made redundant by the burgeoning literature on globalisation but instead has been extended by scholars looking to theorise new forms of sociability, most notably Urry and Beck’s influential work on ‘banal globalism’ and ‘banal cosmopolitanism’, respectively. This edited collection, drawing together scholars from a range of disciplines, will assess the contribution of Billig’s work but, above all, draw on recent developments in theories of practice, material culture, media and communications and affect to highlight new developments in the field. These discussions will place it at the cutting edge of current research into social and cultural identities. Another key contribution will be the provision of a range of perspectives, including empirical research focusing on Canada, Hong Kong, Serbia, Turkey, Germany, the UK, Azerbaijan, Africa and the USA.

Globalization, Identity (Culture), Nationalism, Culture, National Identity, and 3 more

More Info: Featuring contributions from; Michael Billig, Craig Calhoun, Melissa Aroncyzk, Bart Bonikowski, Igor Cusack, Gavin Brent Sullivan

Publication Date: 2016

The article by Merriman and Jones (2016) is the latest contribution to a growing literature on the affective dimension of nations (Closs Stephens, 2016; Militz and Schurr, 2015; Wetherell et al., 2015). According to M... more abstractThe article by Merriman and Jones (2016) is the latest contribution to a growing literature on the affective dimension of nations (Closs Stephens, 2016; Militz and Schurr, 2015; Wetherell et al., 2015). According to Merriman and Jones, affective nationalism should be regarded as a move beyond Billig’s (1995) idea of ‘banal nationalism’. Their stress on the intermittent, emergent and relational character of nation is indeed persuasive and posits a challenge to Billig’s ‘unwaved flag’, hanging limply on a building – a synecdoche for the omnipresence of the nation in the background of our daily lives. The intermittent character clearly invites us to map when, where, how and why the nation is called into existence (see also Brubaker, 2006; Fox and Miller-Idriss, 2008; Skey, 2011; Antonsich, 2015). This in turn stresses the importance of the notion of emergence (Dittmer, 2013): nations should not be regarded as possessing intrinsic qualities, but emerge out of the interactions between people, material objects and the environment. This is why a special attention should be paid to the relational processes which generate national identities, emotions and affects. While this approach to the study of nation is certainly welcomed, since it opens up a new terrain of investigation, we also think that it is in need of further specification. We would like in particular to highlight three key issues that might be used to sharpen our thinking around this topic: power, agency, and method.

Nationalism, National Identity, Affect (Cultural Theory), and Agency

The concept of mediatization has proved remarkably successful in recent years although recent critiques have challenged its media-centrism, a-historicism and conceptual clarity. In this paper, we draw on the work of t... more abstractThe concept of mediatization has proved remarkably successful in recent years although recent critiques have challenged its media-centrism, a-historicism and conceptual clarity. In this paper, we draw on the work of those who suggest that mediatization is best deployed as a means of understanding particular social domains and they ways in which institutions and actors therein orientate their activities towards media. Using association football, or soccer, as our focus we offer a bottom-up perspective that explores how young people in two cities in England engage with the sport. Drawing on data gathered from a series of research workshops with young people, as well as interviews with grassroots football coaches and administrators, we not only demonstrate the extent to which football is followed through a range of media platforms but also some of the ways in which a broader understanding of the game is shaped by these engagements. Moreover, we adapt insights from recent phenomenonlogical approaches to media uses (Moores, 2012) to focus on the practical, embodied forms of knowledge and habit that shape how football is currently played (whether physically or virtually) as well as the degree to which media environments become part of the familiar landscapes which people inhabit when participating in football-related activities.

Football (soccer), Phenomenology, Young People, Mediatization, and Mediatization (Communication Studies)

As a major global media event, the Eurovision Song Contest attracts million of viewers around the world every year. The contest has been studied both in terms of the construction of a European common space and with re... more abstractAs a major global media event, the Eurovision Song Contest attracts million of viewers around the world every year. The contest has been studied both in terms of the construction of a European common space and with regard to national politics. This articles explores the contest from the perspective of the fans inside the media event. We argue that for the fans attending the ESC national belonging is expressed in a playful way tied to the overall camp aesthetic of the competition. At the same time, they experience the media event as a 'cosmopolitan bubble', a space open and diverse, albeit exclusive to those that can afford participation and isolated from everyday life. Ultimately, the paper argues that exploring fan engagement inside media events can provide us with further insights about the significance of those events at a global level.

Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Eurovision Song Contest, Politics of, Eurovision Song Contest, and Media Events

The article by Merriman and Jones (2016) is the latest contribution to a growing literature on the affective dimension of nation (Closs Stephens, 2016; Militz & Schurr, 2015; Wetherell et al. 2015). While this appro... more abstractThe article by Merriman and Jones (2016) is the latest contribution to a growing literature on the affective dimension of nation (Closs Stephens, 2016; Militz & Schurr, 2015; Wetherell et al. 2015). While this approach to the study of nation is certainly welcomed, since it opens up a new terrain of investigation, we also think that it is in need of further specification. We would like in particular to highlight three key issues that might be used to sharpen our thinking around this topic: power, agency, and method.

Geography, Nationalism, Affect Theory, Affect/Emotion, Affect, and 1 more

Journal Name: Forthcoming in Progress in Human Geography

The literature on media events has grown dramatically in recent years. More recent studies have looked to move beyond functionalist readings noting the complexity of media environments and social settings and foregrou... more abstractThe literature on media events has grown dramatically in recent years. More recent studies have looked to move beyond functionalist readings noting the complexity of media environments and social settings and foregrounding relations of power. Notwithstanding their key contribution these critical approaches risk losing their connection with Dayan & Katz’s original formulation. We argue that events that are anticipated and involve external organizations in their design demand a specific set of analytical tools. To this end, we suggest refining the media events concept in relation to the following features; liveness, planning, scale, visibility, disruption, shared experience, a dominant reading and emotional investment. Our approach also emphasizes the importance of moving beyond textual analyses to study media events in terms of both their design and practice by different constituencies, whether producers, participants or viewers. We illustrate our arguments by drawing upon ethnographic material from the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest held in Copenhagen.

European Studies, Media Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Globalization, Eurovision Song Contest, Politics of, and 2 more

Recent work on media events has questioned their integrative function, arguing that they operate as sites of symbolic struggle between different interest groups. However, there have been relatively few studies of the ... more abstractRecent work on media events has questioned their integrative function, arguing that they operate as sites of symbolic struggle between different interest groups. However, there have been relatively few studies of the experiences of those who design, organize and attend such events. We seek to address this lacuna with reference to the biggest non-sporting live TV event in the world, the Eurovision Song Contest. Drawing on data from the 2014 competition in Copenhagen, Denmark, we examine the varying levels of commitment that organisers, fans, broadcasters and journalists, have to the event and, in particular, note how this shaped responses to a controversial incident involving the Russian entry. While those with an ongoing interest, including organisers and fans, tended to emphasise personal narratives and individual freedom of expression, mainstream media and audiences adopted a far more cynical standpoint, privileging geo-political issues to make the event seem more relevant and compelling. (under review - with Julie Uldam, Maria Kyriakidou, Patrick McCurdy)

European Studies, Sexuality, Liminality, Eurovision Song Contest, and Media Events

Drawing on the experiences of second generation, American and British-born people of Egyptian ancestry, this paper seeks to critically evaluate some of the wider debates around diaspora, cosmopolitanism and ‘return’ m... more abstractDrawing on the experiences of second generation, American and British-born people of Egyptian ancestry, this paper seeks to critically evaluate some of the wider debates around diaspora, cosmopolitanism and ‘return’ migration. It first explores the extent to which these relatively affluent, well-educated individuals exhibited a ‘disaporic consciousness’ in discussing their relationship to their parents’ ancestral homeland, before assessing whether this might have been a motivating factor in encouraging their own travels. The second part, examines their everyday encounters within Egypt, during a period of social and political upheaval, paying particular attention to the trans-national skills and competencies they employ, as well as, the shifting contextual pressures, associated with class, gender and nationality, that inform, and constrain, processes of identification and recognition.

Transnationalism, Migration, Cosmopolitanism, Egypt, and Return Migration

More Info: Written with Sarah Saey / forthcoming in the Journal of Migration Studies

This paper analyses findings from an empirical study of the routine flagging of nationhood across the visual environment. In mapping the density and type of national symbols across three contrasting sites in Britain, ... more abstractThis paper analyses findings from an empirical study of the routine flagging of nationhood across the visual environment. In mapping the density and type of national symbols across three contrasting sites in Britain, it seeks to extend Billig’s argument, in his seminal study of Banal Nationalism (1995), concerning the importance of routine symbols in representing the nation. It shows how both public and, in particular, commercial organisations routinely display such markers of nationhood in order to appeal to particular constituencies and markets. The paper demonstrates a link between the size and diversity of local populations and the range of national markers but also argues that these different flags contribute, as a whole, to the often taken-for-granted ideal that we live in a nation, in a world of nations.

Visual Sociology, Photography, Nationalism, National Identity, Everyday Nationalism, and 1 more

More Info: Sociology / http://soc.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/07/0038038515590754.abstract

""In the contemporary era, the link between a settled sense of place and identity has been called into question as human populations, cultural representations and artefacts become increasingly mobile. There is increas... more abstract""In the contemporary era, the link between a settled sense of place and identity has been called into question as human populations, cultural representations and artefacts become increasingly mobile. There is increasing evidence that these new forms of mobility have enabled growing numbers to create and maintain ‘transnational connections’ (Hannerz, 1996) and/or critically reflect on dominant narratives of belonging and identity (Dolby, 2007). Many of these approaches have also been theoretically stimulating, challenging us to rethink established concepts such as society, community and identity (Urry, 2000). However, in setting the ‘study of mobilities as … the definitive context and experience of human life’ (Jenkins, 2002: 29), these studies tend to underplay the extent to which everyday practices and social activities continue to be influenced by and organised in relation to boundaries, not to mention wider attachments to particular places. In privileging the experiences of more mobile group, the views of, what Skrbis and his colleagues, label, ‘the sedentary underclasses and … sedentary glocals’ (2004: 121) are sometimes overlooked. These are the substantial numbers who are increasingly able (and willing) to engage with other cultural forms, through forms of consumption and travel, but still remain relatively rooted, in terms of their everyday habits and social relations. Interestingly, while it is these more sedentary groups that often form the unmarked categories against which more visible or mobile minorities are defined, we know relatively little about their views and experiences. Moreover, where mobility is viewed as a progressive force, undermining more parochial or local allegiances, more sedentary groups may be seen as an obstacle to normative goals or principles. As a result, there has sometimes been a tendency to ignore the reasons why established socio-spatial relations might be valued. For instance, in putting forward his ‘cosmopolitan vision’, the sociologist Ulrich Beck has dismissed the ‘experiential frame of national societies [as a] … scam’ (Beck, 2002: 29). The trouble with such a view is that it offers little in the way of explanatory power when trying to make sense of those activities that continue to draw on, and reference, such a ‘frame’ (debates around immigration and economic protectionism being the most obvious examples). To do this, requires actively investigating the processes by which particular places become (or cease to be) meaningful, to certain groups, and how their management is used to establish or maintain relations of power, often by drawing distinctions between those who do and don’t belong. In this chapter, I want to explore the attitudes and activities of people who claim belonging to such a group, members of the Anglo-white majority in England. To borrow from Wallman’s social-boundary matrix, I am interested in the perspectives of those who are firmly located inside the national boundary forming part of the ‘us’, that ‘use the boundary for our purposes, according to our needs’ (quoted in Donnan & Wilson, 1999: 23). While this group is far from homogeneous, undercut by intersections of class, gender, age, region and so on, it is interesting to note how, in talking about their own lives, and, in particular, their relations with ‘others’, they position themselves as people who belong ‘without question’ to the nation (reference to author removed). In engaging with these groups, we may be better able to assess the relationship between (national) boundaries and belonging, by examining how they discuss both ‘their’ own and ‘others’ mobility, in an era of rapid global change. Before examining specific examples from my own empirical data, I will discuss the theoretical framework that will be employed in this paper. The first section examines the hierarchies of belonging and entitlement that operate within a given nation and the changing status of dominant ethnic groups in the current era. Leading on from this, the second section will address the importance of spatial representation and management to national forms of imagination, organisation and solidarity and, consequently, the ways in which the everyday (re)production and management of a bounded national space underpins the status, and agency, of more dominant groups. "" Please note that the attached chapter is a pre-publication draft and NOT the final version that appears in the book

Globalization, Nationalism, Symbolic Boundaries, National Identity, Migration Studies, and 1 more

Publication Date: Oct 2014

Publication Name: Published in the edited collection - Nationalism, Ethnicity and Boundaries

Current debates around immigration are informed by hierarchies of belonging with some groups seen to belong more, and therefore deserve more, than others. This link between belonging and entitlement has been predomina... more abstractCurrent debates around immigration are informed by hierarchies of belonging with some groups seen to belong more, and therefore deserve more, than others. This link between belonging and entitlement has been predominantly analysed in relation to struggles over access to key material benefits, such as jobs, housing, healthcare and so on. This paper will argue that these struggles also point to the continuing relevance of nationhood to many people’s sense of self, community and place and the value that comes from being positioned, and recognised, as part of a group that lies at the heart of national life and culture. In other words, the ‘politics of immigration’ is about the anxieties and concerns of those who no longer feel ‘at home’ in what they consider to be ‘their’ country.

Immigration, Ethnic minorities, England, Sense of belonging, UKIP, and 3 more

Publication Name: Political Quarterly - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-923X

Event Date: Jul 14, 2012

Organization: Saturday Extra, ABC

Event Date: May 7, 2012

Organization: BBC Rasdio 4, Thinking Allowed

Europe

England, Generations, UKIP, and Great Britain

Ethnicity, England, UKIP, Ethnic Majority, and Great Britain

Immigration, England, Tea Party, and UKIP

Immigration, England, and UKIP