Evaluate the Claim That British Identity Is Defined by Shared Values.
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 01/04/2013 06:51 AM
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The aim of this assignment is to evaluate the claim that British Identity is defined by shared values. I will examine national identity and how we cannot attribute Britishness down to its traditions (pomp and ceremony), rituals or even by its flag. I will do this by looking at extracts published by the Government and by independent theorists. Over time British identity has diversified; I will therefore take into consideration how its shared values and diversity has become incorporated into our personal identities.
The UK is known under many titles such as Great Britain and under its proper title United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A Governmental Booklet (Home Office 2007, p1, cited in Clarke, 2009, p210), written for people trying to gain British citizenship states that national identity and citizenship in UK do not always mean the same thing. Depending on where we are geographically they are all British citizens, though their nationality can be Scottish or Welsh and in Northern Ireland it can be British, Irish or even British/Irish. Depending on what cultural allegiances, historical events (Battle of the Boyne 1690 or Easter Rising 1916) and political influences that is present in their communities. Unlike other nations that have distinct traditions, dialects, and religious convictions the United Kingdom is made up of separate nation-states that have their own deeply ingrained cultures and values that are both ethnically and religiously diverse. For some to be classed as British is really about claiming superiority of England and the English (Kumar,2001) and can raise questions about people’s rights to hold a national identity. This is also raised by Sociologist Bhikhu Parekh, he believes that England, Scotland and Wales are at a turning point in their history and that they will go one of two ways either become stagnant and alienate each other or as a nation they can renew and sustain their communities.
However social scientist Vron...
The UK is known under many titles such as Great Britain and under its proper title United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A Governmental Booklet (Home Office 2007, p1, cited in Clarke, 2009, p210), written for people trying to gain British citizenship states that national identity and citizenship in UK do not always mean the same thing. Depending on where we are geographically they are all British citizens, though their nationality can be Scottish or Welsh and in Northern Ireland it can be British, Irish or even British/Irish. Depending on what cultural allegiances, historical events (Battle of the Boyne 1690 or Easter Rising 1916) and political influences that is present in their communities. Unlike other nations that have distinct traditions, dialects, and religious convictions the United Kingdom is made up of separate nation-states that have their own deeply ingrained cultures and values that are both ethnically and religiously diverse. For some to be classed as British is really about claiming superiority of England and the English (Kumar,2001) and can raise questions about people’s rights to hold a national identity. This is also raised by Sociologist Bhikhu Parekh, he believes that England, Scotland and Wales are at a turning point in their history and that they will go one of two ways either become stagnant and alienate each other or as a nation they can renew and sustain their communities.
However social scientist Vron...