Fragments of a Composite Identity
Aspects of Australian Nationalism in a Sports Setting1
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3255346 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter G Mewett, Peter Mewett (Deakin University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 357-375 |
| Publication date | 1999-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Australian Journal of Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1035-8811 • E-ISSN: 1757-6547 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1835-9310.1999.tb00030.x |
| OpenAlex | W2088834162 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 18 |
| References cited | 19 |
I argue that it is erroneous to view nations as culturally homogeneous entities. Rather, all nations are riven by multiple divisions. What characterises a nation is that the people constituting it believe that they share a sameness with their co-nationals. So, the idea of cultural homogeneity is a myth that breathes life into nationalism: it is a cohering leitmotiv, a predicate of the 'imagined community' that can be subscribed to in different ways by people of diverse social locations and of disparate interests. Whereas most writers on nationalism write from a top-down perspective, I side with Hobsbawm in posing the question of how 'ordinary' people embrace a belonging to their nation. I maintain that there is no single, simple axis of national cohesion: rather, in any nation, there are multiple ways of identifying with and intuiting the collectivity. The emergence of the axioms of Australian nationhood, particularly with regard to how ideas of Australian distinctiveness emerged in counterpoint to British based discourses, is explored. I suggest that people 'lock-in' to these axioms through the symbology of specific events and situations. Attention is directed to the Stawell Easter Gift professional running carnival as an event that, amongst other things, provides occasions that enable participants to 'lock-in' to the meta-discourse of national identity
Aesthetics · Collective identity · Epistemology · Media studies · Mythology · National identity · Nationalism · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Political science · Sociology · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts
The Longitudinal Changes of National Identity in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Before, During and After the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games
The unintended consequences of government policies and programmes for public open spaces in inner-urban Sydney
Toward a Distinctive Sport Management Discipline
Shifting Egalitarianisms and Contemporary Racism in Rural Victorian Football
A ‘fair go’ values framework for public policy
Scouting an Anthropology of Sport
Beyond ‘Navel-Gazing’ and ‘Mush’
Salient Components of Itiopiawinnet
Skiing Nation
Negotiating national identity through loss
Visions of Australian sport in 1900
Australian National Identity
Mobilising identity and culture in experience co-creation and venue operation
A Cross-Cultural Study of the Influence of Perceived Positive Outcomes on Participation in Regular Active Recreation
Use of the OECD in justifying policy reforms
What did a ‘fair go’ originally mean to Australians
The Australian We All Aspire to Be
Because Hongkongers Should Support Hong Kong
The Germans
Nations and Nationalism since 1780
Introduction. Memory and Identity
Distinction
The ethnic origins of nations
Commemorations
Nations and Nationalism
The Athlete — the Country's Representative As a Hero
Marching into the past
The devolution of the Irish economy in the nineteenth century and the bifurcation of Irish sport
Playing for power? rugby, Afrikaner nationalism and masculinity in South Africa, c.1900–70
A Sporting Chance? The “Dark Horse Strategy” and Winning in Professional Running
Globalisation, Sport And National Identities
Nation and Commemoration
Citizenship, Nationality, and Ethnicity
Legends of People, Myths of State
The Invention of Thanksgiving
Sport, Heroes and Myth
| Unique citing works | 18 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,82 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2024 (21) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |