Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Positing a naturalized, seamless connection between past and present, nationalists often reference mythic pasts to constitute contemporary life. In this paper we examine two elements of the construction of national identity through ?living history? museums and theme parks. Specifically, we analyze and compare the historical, ?recreated? cities of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia and Den Gamle By (The Old Town) in Aarhus, Denmark with the worldwide Disney theme park empire. We argue that the attempt to create ?authentic? historical sites is really a utopian effort to mask and paper over fundamental contradictions endemic to every identity system. These ?historic? sites are important nodal points in identity construction and, with the massive growth of international tourism, have increasing transnational implications.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Benedict Anderson (1991) has famously described nations as ?imagined communities.? His emphasis on imagination implies that the process is virtually limitless. However, based on an in-depth investigation of this process in Scotland and Wales, I argue that there are important constraints to this process. To understand more fully when, how and why some nations seem to be easier to imagine (e.g., Scotland) than others (e.g., Wales), this paper proposes a political psychological theory of ?bounded imagined communities.? A critical boundary toward the foundation of a salient imagined community is the availability of accessible national myths that fit well with individual perceptions of present social reality. More than a simple extension of Anthony Smith's notion of a "usable past," my model analyzes the complex roles that history and culture play in forging and maintaining salient imagined communities. Equally important to the theory is an explicit analysis of political entrepreneurs (e.g., nationalist parties, political leaders) and institutions (e.g., education, media and sports) because these individuals and institutions interpret the national myths and thereby attempt to influence the final form of the national communities that are imagined. Finally, my theory employs and extends social identity theory to argue that individual-level psychological needs and desires (such as accessibility, fit, assimilation and differentiation) play critical roles in determining which national myths will be received and accepted by a given individual. In the end, this political psychological theory of bounded imagined communities successfully combines Anthony Smith?s (1996, 1997, 1999) observation that contemporary nations are more than a sum of individual attitudes and beliefs with Anthony Cohen?s (1996) concerns that macro-social theories do not adequately capture the deep meaning that the national identities have to the individuals who form them.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The central question of this study is how people use moral insights offered by television narratives to develop their moral imagination. A framework derived from the literary tradition is employed to research how viewers reflect upon insights into moral issues, moral deliberation and the Other offered by TV narratives. Forty-one in-depth interviews with people from different gender, age, ethnicity and class were analysed, using a grounded theory approach. Three modes of moral reflection emerged during the analysis (interpretative, additional and associated reflection). Results indicate that people do not only use television narratives to reflect on moral insights, they also seem to enjoy reflecting tremendously and while doing so transcending manifest insights offered by TV narratives. Differences between different groups of people and limitations for moral reflections are discussed. I will argue that television is a broad and interesting resource for the development of moral imagination.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Benedict Anderson, in a seminal work on nationalism, argued that nations should be seen as imagined communities. Unfortunately, while many of his observations remain the touchstone for researchers who wish to understand the nature of national identities across time and space, the community aspect of his concept is severely underdeveloped. More substantively, by leaving the process of community-building underspecified, his model is not useful for those who wish to study nationalism as a contemporary political force (rather than a finished historical certainty, as Anderson tends to do). In this project, I argue that the notion of an imagined community can (and must) be transformed from a heuristic into an active research tool for those who wish to investigate how national identities are formed and maintained. I demonstrate the utility of this model by demonstrating its use in a wide array of contemporary contexts. For example, a precise delineation of the community aspects of an imagined community allows us to understand why Wales, despite a separate language (spoken by nearly one-fifth of the population) and a strong sense of pride, is unable to forge a strong nationalist movement, whereas an overwhelming majority of Scottish people believe that Scotland will become an independent nation-state within two decades. Similarly, it can illuminate many of the critical challenges that the European Union faces as it attempts to forge a meaningful supra-national identity among its citizens. Furthermore, this approach yields important insights into the political contestation that multinational nation-states, such as the former Yugoslavia, Nigeria, and Iraq, face as they attempt to deal with various forms of ethnic strife.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Benedict Anderson, in a seminal work on nationalism, argued that nations should be seen as imagined communities. Unfortunately, while many of his observations remain the touchstone for researchers who wish to understand the nature of national identities across time and space, the community aspect of his concept is severely underdeveloped. More substantively, by leaving the process of community-building underspecified, his model is not useful for those who wish to study nationalism as a contemporary political force (rather than a finished historical certainty, as Anderson tends to do). In this project, I argue that the notion of an imagined community can (and must) be transformed from a heuristic into an active research tool for those who wish to investigate how national identities are formed and maintained. I demonstrate the utility of this model by demonstrating its use in a wide array of contemporary contexts. For example, a precise delineation of the community aspects of an imagined community allows us to understand why Wales, despite a separate language (spoken by nearly one-fifth of the population) and a strong sense of pride, is unable to forge a strong nationalist movement, whereas an overwhelming majority of Scottish people believe that Scotland will become an independent nation-state within two decades. Similarly, it can illuminate many of the critical challenges that the European Union faces as it attempts to forge a meaningful supra-national identity among its citizens. Furthermore, this approach yields important insights into the political contestation that multinational nation-states, such as the former Yugoslavia, Nigeria, and Iraq, face as they attempt to deal with various forms of ethnic strife.