Nation-Building, Identity and Citizenship Education: Introduction

Abstract

In Nation-building, identity and citizenship education, Zajda provides a comprehensive review of literature pertaining to research on nation-building, social identity, and citizenship education globally. This compilation is founded in a notion that the modern construct of the nation state is under constant pressure from the forces of globalization, which tends to standardize lifestyles through commodities, information technology, and the mass media. Conversely, globalization creates opportunities for cultural resistance by powerfully entrenched local cultures, where both the traditional and indigenous historical minorities and the new migrant communities are growing as a result of economic globalization and job mobility. Despite the popular belief that state's autonomy and regulatory function have been eroded by globalization, while impacting nation states, national identities, and nationalism, it does not necessarily transcend or supersede them. Finally, the chapter provides definitions and interpretations for nation state, national identity and its elements, and dedicates considerable time to the role of teaching history and historiography in nation-building.