Collaborative Learning Activity 3.1 - How does a nation identify itself with a place?

Procedures for Completing Activity. You can complete this activity using the following steps. It is recommended that you meet with the members of your local group so you can all work on the activity at the same time.

Step 1 - Using library references and/or the Internet, each local group should look for songs, poems, films, books, or paintings that are examples of how a place serves as a basis for nationalism. Look for examples in your area and elsewhere. For each example, identify those elements of the place that might be linked to national identity:

• Did an important event in the history of a nation occur in the place?
• What aspects of the place might contribute to a sense of national pride?
• Is the place considered to be the homeland of a particular nation?

Step 2 - When finished, each local group should go to the Group Discussion Board and post answers to the questions in Step 1 in the "Place and National Identity" forum. Your team should use this forum to discuss the following question. Try to discuss the question long enough so that each member has a chance to share a view and respond to at least one other member of the team.

(1) Review the examples gathered by your team for this activity. What reasons can you give why some places are sources of nationalism?

(2) Think about those groups of people or communities that are often underrepresented in school or university textbooks, popular culture, and so on. How do these minority groups attempt to make themselves "visible" to the majority? Can you think of any reasons why a nation would want to do make itself and its culture visible to the majority culture in a state?