Narrating Peoplehood amidst Diversity

Om bogen

Telling stories is an essential part of being human: We tell stories about ourselves to show other people who we are and where we belong. Nations have stories to tell too - "stories of peoplehood" - that build and maintain a sense of national belonging and identity. The concept has been used to analyse identities, memories, and histories of individuals, communities and nations. But does it make sense to talk about peoplehood today? Can plural societies tell national stories without marginalizing their minorities? And is it even fair to assume that our individual self-narratives are coupled with shared cultural ones?

In Narrating Peoplehood amidst Diversity, 16 internationally renowned scholars reflect on the nature and history of peoplehood and discuss how it forms part of national identities, public culture, and academic historiography. Based on theoretical analysis and empirical studies drawn from Latinos in the United States and African immigrants in France, and from multicultural stands in Canada to grand narratives in Danish history, the book is a timely contribution to the ongoing debate on belonging and identification in multicultural societies.

Indholdsfortegnelse

Stories of Peoplehood: An Approach to the Study of Identity, Memory, and Historiography

Re-imagining a People: Towards a Theory of Peoplehood as Social Imaginary

Citizenship, Belonging and Identification: The State of Denmark

Our Stories, Our Selves: Identities and Dialogs of Narrative

Identity and Nationalism in a Global World: Some Theoretical Reflections

Nation, Region, and Immigration in US History, 1864-1924

From the Shining City on a Hill to a Great Metropolis on a Plain? American Stories of Immigration and Peoplehood

From Workers to Enemies: National Security, State Building, and America's War on Illegal Immigrants

Narratives of Nation and Anti-Nation: The Media and the Construction of Latinos as a Threat to the United States

Immigration and the Intersection of Ethnic and National Narratives: The Case of Ethnic Mexicans in the United States

The Writing of History and National Identity: the Danish Case

Grand Narratives in Danish History: From Functional Identity to Problematic Identity

Who Are We Now? A Multicultural Canada in the Twenty-First Century

Canada's Story: The Urgency of History

National Identity, American and Otherwise

Narratives of Peoplehood, National History, and Imagined Nations amidst Diversity. A Conclusion