200611573
15076: Revolutions in Culture and Society: The Making of Modern France Tutors name Janine Kopp
Word Length 1614
Introduction;
Why redefine what it is to be French and what are the dangers of engaging in such a debate? This is a complex question. It is complex because in order to attempt to redefine what it is to be French then first of all an attempt has to be made to deduce what exactly defines
French identity in the present day. Only then perhaps can any reason be found why the French identity should in fact be redefined.
In fact how can any cultural identity be defined? A concise description can be explained as,
Cultural identity can be described as what is common to an individual and other members of his/her cultural …show more content…
This apparent contradiction is illustrated most aptly by the paradox of a country with a population of immigrants displaying the gradual yet seemingly unstoppable rise of anti-immigration parties such as the Front National. Why should this be happening?
I believe the answer to this stems from the apparent French obsession with National
Identity. At least by the Political Elite if not always by the man in the street. But again it can depend on what street in what town you are looking! Could this be a consequence of the often turbulent history of the country with its frequent and often bloody revolutions, its changes of government and the changes of regime which it has endured? The desire for a modern nation-state, with a common language and a common national heritage which all French men and women can relate to as an antidote to the almost constant political earthquakes that have plagued the country and its people? This state of flux imprinting itself on the national psyche and therefore giving rise to a desire and a need for something permanent and descriptive of the French character? …show more content…
It should be noted also that the advent of the Internet seems to be having an effect on the French
Identity due to the domination of English on this expanding worldwide technology. This can be seen predominately among the young and their total acceptance and use of standard world wide
Internet technology terms and slang. The fear amongst some is that any total acceptance of the
“Anglo-Domination” will result in the French Identity gradually being absorbed into a world wide homogeneous and bland culture. A culture which will not recognise anything different from what it defines as normal. As an example of what dangers may arise if any attempt is made to redefine
French identity it is useful to look at Corsica. A French territory but a place where there are undeniable pressures from separatist organisations to, if not to completely move from a French identity, then certainly to modify it sufficiently so that any pretensions to being French would fade away. This can, and often does, manifest itself in the form of public unrest and
15076: Revolutions in Culture and Society: The Making of Modern France Tutors name Janine Kopp
Word Length 1614
Introduction;
Why redefine what it is to be French and what are the dangers of engaging in such a debate? This is a complex question. It is complex because in order to attempt to redefine what it is to be French then first of all an attempt has to be made to deduce what exactly defines
French identity in the present day. Only then perhaps can any reason be found why the French identity should in fact be redefined.
In fact how can any cultural identity be defined? A concise description can be explained as,
Cultural identity can be described as what is common to an individual and other members of his/her cultural …show more content…
This apparent contradiction is illustrated most aptly by the paradox of a country with a population of immigrants displaying the gradual yet seemingly unstoppable rise of anti-immigration parties such as the Front National. Why should this be happening?
I believe the answer to this stems from the apparent French obsession with National
Identity. At least by the Political Elite if not always by the man in the street. But again it can depend on what street in what town you are looking! Could this be a consequence of the often turbulent history of the country with its frequent and often bloody revolutions, its changes of government and the changes of regime which it has endured? The desire for a modern nation-state, with a common language and a common national heritage which all French men and women can relate to as an antidote to the almost constant political earthquakes that have plagued the country and its people? This state of flux imprinting itself on the national psyche and therefore giving rise to a desire and a need for something permanent and descriptive of the French character? …show more content…
It should be noted also that the advent of the Internet seems to be having an effect on the French
Identity due to the domination of English on this expanding worldwide technology. This can be seen predominately among the young and their total acceptance and use of standard world wide
Internet technology terms and slang. The fear amongst some is that any total acceptance of the
“Anglo-Domination” will result in the French Identity gradually being absorbed into a world wide homogeneous and bland culture. A culture which will not recognise anything different from what it defines as normal. As an example of what dangers may arise if any attempt is made to redefine
French identity it is useful to look at Corsica. A French territory but a place where there are undeniable pressures from separatist organisations to, if not to completely move from a French identity, then certainly to modify it sufficiently so that any pretensions to being French would fade away. This can, and often does, manifest itself in the form of public unrest and