The relation between individuals and nation has been object of debate of different disciplines for a long time. In social psychology, national identity is often studied focussing on identification processes in relation with the category "nation". The meaning of the category is still a matter of discussion. In particular, following a narrative approach to social inquiry (Bruner, 1986, 1990), a greater attention to the temporal aspects involved in the construction of identity, as well as a more punctual consideration of the specific contexts into which individuals represent their membership, is proposed. As a consequence, national identity is considered a heterogeneous and negotiable construct. Furthermore, according to Breakwell (1986, 1992), what is commonly called "national identity" is not separated from other relevant levels of territorial memberships (local, regional, supranational...): whenever people refer to a specific territorial level, they organize their identity on the basis of peculiar contents and dimensions. Therefore, the relations among different levels are plastic, organized on functional aims and motivations (Deaux, 2000), but they keep trace of the different historical and cultural contexts (Reicher & Hopkins, 2001; Bellelli, Bakhurst e Rosa, 2000). Moreover, these levels are not disconnected one from the other: a wider territorial identity, as the national one, will contain shared elements deriving from more local levels. The present work aims to investigate the way in which national identity is represented through a narrative and historical perspective. To this purpose, successful and relevantly socio-historical literary novels were used: literary works can be considered as cultural shared archives that contain and relaunch functional patterns of common living (Lá¡szló, et. al., 2003). Novels are means for transmitting important elements for the past of a group (Halbwachs, 1968; Assmann, 1992), not only through narratives of relevant historical events, but also through the diffusion of relational models, functional explicative forms and everyday practices. More specifically, the aim is to search for common and divergent elements in the historical evolution of different levels of national identity, with particular attention to the macro-contexts "North" and "South" of Italy. Novels written and set in different periods of national history (the Thirties-Forties, the Sixties and the Nineties) were content analysed to find out representations of relevant social "realities", looking at a) the way in which different levels of territorial identity are constructed and negotiated; b) the structure of social relations and the evaluations used by the characters; c) the main themes on which characters define their territorial identity. Results show that the evolution of the representation of identity at the national level appears substantially shared and coherent in its core elements, although with some differences: in the past, local identity is much more salient and its representation is characterised mainly by differentiation and isolation; in the Nineties a global and supranational representation can be observed. Moreover, the two contexts show different relational patterns: in southern Italy, the relational network is thick and the public dimension prevails on the individual one; on the contrary, in northern Italy a more individualist organization of relationships can observed: individuals are more oriented to self-enhancement rather than to the welfare of the community.
Nazione e narrative. La costruzione sociale dell'identità nazionale attraverso l'analisi di testi letterari in prospettiva storica / Nencini, Alessio. - (2008 Jan 30).
Nazione e narrative. La costruzione sociale dell'identità nazionale attraverso l'analisi di testi letterari in prospettiva storica.
Nencini, Alessio
2008
Abstract
The relation between individuals and nation has been object of debate of different disciplines for a long time. In social psychology, national identity is often studied focussing on identification processes in relation with the category "nation". The meaning of the category is still a matter of discussion. In particular, following a narrative approach to social inquiry (Bruner, 1986, 1990), a greater attention to the temporal aspects involved in the construction of identity, as well as a more punctual consideration of the specific contexts into which individuals represent their membership, is proposed. As a consequence, national identity is considered a heterogeneous and negotiable construct. Furthermore, according to Breakwell (1986, 1992), what is commonly called "national identity" is not separated from other relevant levels of territorial memberships (local, regional, supranational...): whenever people refer to a specific territorial level, they organize their identity on the basis of peculiar contents and dimensions. Therefore, the relations among different levels are plastic, organized on functional aims and motivations (Deaux, 2000), but they keep trace of the different historical and cultural contexts (Reicher & Hopkins, 2001; Bellelli, Bakhurst e Rosa, 2000). Moreover, these levels are not disconnected one from the other: a wider territorial identity, as the national one, will contain shared elements deriving from more local levels. The present work aims to investigate the way in which national identity is represented through a narrative and historical perspective. To this purpose, successful and relevantly socio-historical literary novels were used: literary works can be considered as cultural shared archives that contain and relaunch functional patterns of common living (Lá¡szló, et. al., 2003). Novels are means for transmitting important elements for the past of a group (Halbwachs, 1968; Assmann, 1992), not only through narratives of relevant historical events, but also through the diffusion of relational models, functional explicative forms and everyday practices. More specifically, the aim is to search for common and divergent elements in the historical evolution of different levels of national identity, with particular attention to the macro-contexts "North" and "South" of Italy. Novels written and set in different periods of national history (the Thirties-Forties, the Sixties and the Nineties) were content analysed to find out representations of relevant social "realities", looking at a) the way in which different levels of territorial identity are constructed and negotiated; b) the structure of social relations and the evaluations used by the characters; c) the main themes on which characters define their territorial identity. Results show that the evolution of the representation of identity at the national level appears substantially shared and coherent in its core elements, although with some differences: in the past, local identity is much more salient and its representation is characterised mainly by differentiation and isolation; in the Nineties a global and supranational representation can be observed. Moreover, the two contexts show different relational patterns: in southern Italy, the relational network is thick and the public dimension prevails on the individual one; on the contrary, in northern Italy a more individualist organization of relationships can observed: individuals are more oriented to self-enhancement rather than to the welfare of the community.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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