Establishing National Identity on a Nation-State Essay

Establishing National Identity on a Nation-State - Essay Example Benedict Anderson defined a nation as an "imagined political community". He explicitly used the term "imagined" because he says that people of a certain nation, no matter how small it is, will not have the ability to know a considerable fraction of their fellow nationals, will not have the opportunity to meet them all, nor to even hear about them. But though this is the reality, they have similar ideas and images in relation to descent; therefore in their minds and imagination, they are one as a community (Anderson). The definition of a nation as an imagined community is relevant in the creation and preservation of every modern state. It is through their imaginations that people can cultivate fraternity towards those of the same race and nationality and consequently, they will all join forces to uphold their nationalistic ideas, even though they do not get fully acquainted with each other. Heroism and the willingness of somebody to die for his nation is one good example that imagination plays a pertinent role in this concept of a nation, national identity, and nationalism (Anderson). To illustrate the concepts further, take the case of the country Korea, which is situated in Eastern Asia. Korea is now subdivided into two countries, North Korea and South Korea. Both the North Korean and the South Korean people have the same physical characteristics and the same language. But they do not have the same national-identity simply because they do not fall under the same nation-state sovereignty. Their respective governments are independent of each other, and are actually in full contrast. North Korea is a communist country, while South Korea holds on to their democracy. Most of the time, national identity boils down to the individual person, and his nationalistic sense toward his country (Yi). The people of Korea have the ability to migrate to another neighboring country or to for example, the U.S. If this happens, they leave their nation-state to join another. Although they now belong to a different nation-state, their national identity remains intact, and that is being a Korean by birth and ancestry (Yi) In the ancient ages of dynasty and kingship, the Korean national identity is relatively nil. History shows that Korea is so grossly involved with its surrounding nations that it has never really established its own national identity right there. Korea before, is constantly in the danger of being overshadowed by a bigger and a more powerful nation like China and Mongolia, who consequently, have similar physical features to them and belongs to the same Asian territory (Yi) Korea's national identity was developed through its own ancient tradition and culture. Iryon, a dominant figure of ancient Korea, went ahead and compiled myths, chronicles, and ideas that are directly related to Korea and its heritage, and called it the Samguk Yusa (Yi). Iryon's main purpose is to establish and develop Korea's innate nationalistic idealisms so as to resist stress and pressure coming from their neighboring nations that could probably result to colonization. Although Samguk Sagi was in a way, influenced by the Chinese philosopher Confucius, it did succeed in awakening Korea's threatened national

My Role in the project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Role in the project - Essay Example The time element alone should be defined in terms of the number of seconds that would cover running the specified video or scene which includes interview and documentary narrations to be participated by selected graduate and undergraduate students, as well as relevant portions to be narrated by Professor David Keppel. The successful implementation of my tasks and responsibilities is due to the effective collaboration with all members of the group, and especially with the group leader, C. Sunnie Buchanan. Through the inspiring leadership style and strategies of scheduling meetings and creating the most advantageous group email created specifically to make correspondence easy and conveniently possible, I was able to take note of relevant information that is needed to be integrated within the creation of the script, storyline, and audio background. Likewise, my attendances to group meetings were also relevant in soliciting all necessary information from the rest of the group and to addr ess any eminent challenges. Finally, I realized that not because my role was defined as a producer means that my tasks should only be confined there. There were instances when I have already completed the tasks expected of me but I acknowledge that there are behind the scene activities that need to be taken cared of to ensure completion and success. As such, I did not hesitate to initiate assistance in areas where these are deemed necessary. Group Mates’ Contributions All group members contributed effectively and successfully to the group project. Through the leadership style, skills, and governance of C. Sunnie Buchanan, all members were able to comply with the assigned responsibilities at the identified time frame. The instrumental role of regular and constant open communication facilitated provision of feedbacks, progress, performance of duties, and the need to address any dilemma or challenges that were encountered. The rest of the members’ performance exceeds expe ctations and did not only adhere to the responsibilities noted but surpassed compliance to the assigned tasks. All graduate students worked collaboratively and cohesively. The contribution of Anthony Shearer to organize and provide direction to the successful implementation of tasks enabled us to progress in identified phases, as expected. The element of time management was evidently used in monitoring the progress of the project at its specific stages, from group formation, storming, norming and performing. The provision of clear and accurate objectives, roles and responsibilities, delegation of tasks, clearly identified time frame to comply with expected activities, and the design of group communication process contributed to the group’s success. Likewise, our group worked very well with the undergraduate students, especially with their leader, Donovan Jones-Betters, whose contribution included overseeing that their respective members comply with the tasks that were assigne d. Likewise, their assistance in selecting appropriate students to be interviewed and to be part of the video project was just commendable. My counterpart in production from the undergraduate students, Natalie Pina, likewise shared her insights and knowledge in terms of production design through tips on camera angle, lighting and quality of shots. The counterpart of Anthony Shearer in organization, Cassandra Gazzo, likewise provided inputs that focused on