Cultural Identity and the Nation State

Individual cultural identity as well as the culturally identical group of members who share the same cultural identity or upbringing are both characteristics of cultural identity. Cultural identity is a fluid process influenced by a variety of social, cultural, and historical events. Some people change their cultural identities more frequently than others, and those who change less frequently have a distinct cultural identity. This indicates that their culture has a dynamic yet stable integration. A nation in the sense of shared ethnicity may include a diaspora or refugees living outside the nation state; some nations in this sense do not have a state where that ethnicity is the majority. A nation state is simply a large, politically sovereign country or administrative territory in a broader sense.

Why Cultural and Natural Identity is Crucial for a Country?

A shared sense of custom, language, belief, and behaviour is referred to as culture. This term refers to a group of people who share a common attitude or way of life. People from the same culture are more likely to think in similar ways. Culture identity refers to how people interact with one another. This is significant because it has an impact on the development of relationships and interpersonal interactions. This is not exclusive; it depends on the situation; people may believe they belong to multiple groups at once.

Culture identity gives a person a sense of belonging to certain groups, which provides a sense of security and allows them to form relationships with others who share their culture. A strong cultural identity, on the other hand, would hinder the development of relationships between different groups.National and cultural identity is extremely important to a country’s stability and cohesion among citizens. A country with a strong national and cultural identity would be a much easier step forward.

Cultural Arena

It’s also worth noting that a person’s “cultural arena,” or the place where they live, has an impact on the culture they follow. The environment, as well as the people in these locations, influence how one feels about the culture they wish to adopt. Many immigrants feel compelled to adapt their culture to that of the majority of the country’s citizens. This may conflict with an immigrant’s current beliefs about their culture, posing a problem if the immigrant feels compelled to choose between the two cultures presented.

Some people may be able to adjust to the world’s various cultures by committing to two or more. It is not necessary to adhere to a single culture. Many people interact and socialise with people from one culture as well as people from another culture. As a result, cultural identity can take many forms and shift depending on the cultural context. With the advent of the Internet, the nature of the impact of a cultural arena has changed, bringing together groups of people with shared cultural interests who would have been more likely to integrate into their real-world cultural arena before. People can feel like they are a part of society no matter where they go because of this plasticity.

Cultural Identity in Education

In a classroom or learning environment where an instructor is in charge, cultural identity is rarely discussed. This frequently occurs when an instructor tries to discuss cultural identity and the issues that come with it in the classroom and is met with opposition, preventing the conversation from progressing. Furthermore, failing to discuss cultural identity can result in issues such as stifling educational progress, the development of a sense of self, and social competency. There are often many cultures in these environments, and problems can arise as a result of different world-views that prevent others from thinking about their peers’ values and backgrounds.

Students who can think outside the box are better able to connect with their peers while also expanding their own world-view. Furthermore, instructors should consider the needs of students from various backgrounds in order to best relay the material in a way that engages the student.

When students understand that knowledge and truth are personal to each individual, that instructors do not know everything, and that their own personal experiences shape what they believe, they are better able to contextualise new information by drawing on their own experiences as well as those of others.

This improves students’ ability to think critically and question new information, which benefits all students in a classroom setting. Through active communication of cultural identity, instructors can better elicit this response from their students in two ways. The first is to have students participate in group discussions in class. This builds community and allows students to share their knowledge as well as question their peers and instructors, allowing them to learn about each other’s cultural identities and foster classroom acceptance of different world-views. The second method is to employ active learning techniques like “forming small groups and analysing case studies.” Students learn that their cultural identity is welcomed and accepted through active learning.

Conclusion

The way people deal with the cultural realities in their lives is shaped by a variety of cultural complexities. Nation is a big part of cultural complexity because it builds the foundation for people’s identities, but it can also clash with their cultural realities. Religion, ancestry, skin colour, language, class, education, profession, skill, family, and political attitudes are all factors that influence one’s cultural identity. These elements aid in the formation of one’s identity.Individual cultural identity is essentially how we cater to all aspects of our lives. We could be professors, students, friends, bosses, or employees, for example. The building blocks of our overall cultural identity are how we act and how our schemas contribute to our positions.