Discussion Prompts:
One of the things I’d like you to think about (and discuss) this week is the way that the creation of ‘invented traditions’ and the attempted articulation of a shared ‘European identity’ in the EU may or may not jibe with the immigrant experience, as well as the efforts of former Eastern block and new states to ‘create’ an identifying history for themselves as they seek to articulate what it means to be Czech or Slovak or Ukrainian, etc.
What tools does the EU use to create group cohesion? Many of these are mentioned in the readings, but I also encourage you to look at the European Union (https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en), where many of these symbolical devices are quite explicitly described.
Looking through news items, what can you say about the impact of the Eurozone crisis on European unity and identity? Will it survive?
Again using current events – Ukraine, Scotland, Brexit – reflect upon the potential for ‘unity building’ to actually feed into conflict and continued resurgences of nationalism. There, too, ‘invented traditions’ play a part, do they not?
Reminders:
Please note that these prompts are not the last word on what you could discuss, nor do you have to ‘answer’ all of them. These prompts are suggestions, although I do consult them when making up quiz questions. What else from the readings and film sparks your interest or do you think worthy of discussion? The only requirement is that you stay generally on topic.
Do reference and cite the week’s material, as well as cite any outside material you draw from. I do not require a specific reference style; most of you are probably most familiar with the APA.
350 intial post. 150 reponse.
