Introduction

The introduction sets the background for the situation of the Jews in Iran at the turn of the twentieth century. This initial chapter provides a brief history of Jews in Iran and in the Middle East and touches on the creation of transnational networks that became increasingly important in the twentieth century. It seeks to introduce and contextualize for the reader Iran’s Jewish community and the manner in which it has been addressed in past works. It provides an overview of the political, social, and cultural changes the community experienced, including the implementation of a constitution, urbanization, and a different perception of the “nation” in terms of postimperial identity and structure.

Topography of Post-Soviet Nationalism: The Provinces—the Capital—the West

The cultural myth of the provinces provides the contemporary cultural elite with a semiotic apparatus for formulating Russia's new, postimperial identity. Today, cultural production locates true Russianness outside newly prosperous, multiethnic, and westernized Moscow. In mass culture, the traditional privileging of the center over the backward provinces gives way to the view of the provinces as a repository of national tradition and moral strength. Conversely, high literature and art-house films provide an alternative, harshly critical image of them. In both cases, a particular concept of Russianness is negotiated, one in which the provinces play a central role. Ultimately, both redirect nationalist discourse away from the deeply unsatisfying model of Russia versus the west and instead offer a hermetic national identity based on an “us versus us,” rather than “us versus them,” model.

Kintantis angliškumas: ieškant tautinės tapatybės

Anglų priskirtis britams dėl dažno šių objektų neskyrimo nurodo ir anglų identitetą, kuris dažnai išskiriamas kaip toks. Kol Škotija, Velsas ir Šiaurės Airija turėjo galimybių konstruoti stiprų vietos identitetą supriešinant jį su anglų identitetu, Anglija, be jokio atitikmens Kitiems, niekuomet nesiekė pristatyti savęs taip kaip tą darė Škotija ir Velsas. To priežastis ta, kad daugelis elementų, sudarančių kritiškąjį identitetą, kurį anglai sau priskyrė ilgus metus, prarado savo tinkamumą (šiandienos atitikimą).Šiame straipsnyje yra teigiama, kad yra galimybių išspręsti Anglijos identiteto krizę: Britanija kaip šalis visuomet gebėdavo savo visuomenėje tinkamai integruoti skirtingų kultūrų atstovus. Jei Anglija galėtų save pristatyti kaip pilietišką, ne etiškai britišką, kaip ji buvo suvokiama ilgus amžius, krizė gali tapti kitokia, pasikeitimo pradžia, įtraukti ir kosmopolitišką visuomenę, kuri skatina ne žmonių atskirtį (išryškina skirtumus), tačiau priima ir kultūrų skirtumus, kurie yra svarbūs kuriantis bendrai kultūrai, kuri gali būti sukurta mokantis kritiškai vertinti ir peržiūrėti istoriją. Tai padėtų piliečiams, laikantis emocionalumo, įsitraukti ir dalytis socialiniu ir kultūriniu Britanijos paveldu.Changing Englishness: In search of national identity*Elke Schuch SummaryThe subsumation of Englishness into Britishness to the extent that they were often indistinguishable has contributed to the fact that at present an English identity is struggling to emerge as a distinct category. While devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been able to construct a strong sense of local identity for themselves in opposition to the dominant English, England, without an equivalent Other, has never had to explain herself in the way Scotland or Wales have had to. But now, faced with the after-effects of globalisation, devolution and an increasingly cosmopolitan and multicultural society as a consequence of de-colonisation and migration, the English find it difficult to invent a postimperial identity for themselves. This paper argues that there are chances and possibilities to be derived from the alleged crisis of Englishness: Britain as a nation-state has always accommodated large numbers of non-English at all levels of society. If England manages to re-invent itself along the lines of a civic, non-ethnic Britishness with which it has been identified for so long, the crisis might turn into the beginning of a more inclusive and cosmopolitan society which acknowledges not just the diversification of the people, particularly the legacy of the Empire, but also realises that the diversity of cultures has to be accommodated within a common culture. Such a common culture can be developed and nurtured by teaching a critically re-assessed history syllabus which would enable citizens to emotionally engage with and share in the social and cultural heritage of Britain.Key words: national identity, Englishness, multiculturalism, ethnicity, immigration