Chapter 4 Notes: Nation and Culture

Nationalism and Intercultural Communication

This chapter addresses the role of nationalism in intercultural communication and critiques methodological nationalism within the field.

Stereotypes in Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication resources often rely on national stereotypes, similar to humorous national stereotype jokes. Examples include books and websites offering advice on navigating cultural differences based on nationality.

Consider this joke:

An Englishman, a Frenchman, an American, and a Mexican are on a crashing plane. They lighten the load by throwing out baggage, but it remains too heavy. The Englishman shouts, ‘God save the Queen!’ and jumps out. The Frenchman shouts, ‘Vive la France!’ and jumps out, too. Then the American shouts, ‘Remember the Alamo!’ and throws out the Mexican.

This joke's humor derives from familiar national stereotypes.

Examples of intercultural communication advice:

  • A Swiss newspaper suggests that when communicating with Chinese tourists, a 'no' might mean 'yes,' and a 'yes' might mean nothing, with indirectness being a key aspect of Chinese communication.
  • The Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) advises that French speakers tend to verbalize more than necessary, while Japanese speakers imply more than they say.

These examples use national stereotypes, presenting simplified, one-dimensional characters based on nationality, devoid of other individual characteristics. This reliance on national stereotyping reinforces national belonging as a central aspect of identity.

Banal Nationalism

Michael Billig introduced the term ‘banal nationalism’ to describe the everyday ideological habits that reproduce established nations. This form of nationalism is often unnoticed and stems from state institutions but is adopted by non-state actors.

Examples of banal nationalism:

  • Schooling: Socializes children into a national identity through rituals like the Pledge of Allegiance in the USA or singing the national anthem in Australian schools. In Indonesia, flag-raising ceremonies reinforce national philosophical principles.

    The Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

    • The ‘hidden curriculum’ in schools includes values, dispositions, and social expectations that are taught without being explicitly stated. This includes national poems, anthems, history, and language.

    • A Persian-language primer used in Iranian elementary schools reinforces national identity through reading passages and poems about Iran, accompanied by images of a map of Iran and children in ethnic costumes representing national unity.

      • Example passage: “Our country is Iran. // We live in Iran. // We are Iranian. // The land of Iran has many cities and villages. // Some Iranians live in cities. // Some Iranians live in villages. // Wherever Iranians live, they are Iranian. // Our motherland is Iran. // We love our very own motherland.”

      • Poem: “We are smiling flowers. // We are the children of Iran. // Our country is to us like our body. // We have to be wise, // Watchful and alert. // For the protection of Iran // We’ve got to be strong. // Oh Iran, develop well! // Oh Iran, be free! // Oh Iran, may your heart // Take pleasure in us, // Your children!”

      • Illustrated in the Iranian film Bashu, the Little Stranger, in which a traumatized boy from Southern Iran finds common ground with a Northern Iranian woman through the national poem 'We are the Children of Iran'.

  • Consumer Advertising: Uses national imagery to create positive associations with products, reinforcing national belonging in everyday life. For example, a cornflakes box in Australia lists Australian icons, associating the product with national identity.

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