"What is Nationalism?" Project

Name:_____________________________  Date:_______

What is Nationalism?

Background:

Historian Benedict Anderson coined the phrase “imagined communities” to describe what a nation actually was.  According to Benedict, a nation was socially constructed and imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group. 

Throughout the age of New Imperialism, (Boxer Rebellion, Sepoy Mutiny, Opium War), the events that lead up to WWI (Balkan Crisis, Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Secret Alliance System, Propaganda Campaigns) and the post-WWI world (The Russian Civil War, Bolshevik Revolution, and the rise of Fascism), Nationalism has played a critical role throughout these events.

Every faction of the above events harbored some kind of unique Nationalist feeling about what was best for their “imagined community” and group of people they felt they represented.

Objective:

We are going to investigate the state of American Nationalism at a local level to better determine what the characteristics of the “imagined communities” of Oneonta and America actually are like.

By better understanding the nature of Nationalism in Oneonta and America, we may better understand the influence it has had throughout both World and American History.

Directions:

Part I: Local Interviews

All students will have four weeks to complete the interview portion by themselves for this assignment.

1. Interview one local “Oneontan” that you are not related to (a veteran, business owner, worker, Pastor, construction worker, clerk, waiter, etc.).

2. Interview one EXTENDED family member, not a part of your immediate family.

3. Interview yourself.

You must also come up with 3 original questions to ask in your interviews as well that have to do with this project. These may be about your interviewee’s occupation, family life, political affiliation and so on. 

These must be approved by Mr. Cahill/Mr. Mackey.

Part II: Write Up

Interview Write Ups:

The purpose of this write up is to answer the question:

“What is American Nationalism?”

Based off the interviews you conducted and questions you answered.

There are three parts to this question to answer:

1.    What does it mean to be American and a member of Oneonta’s community to your Extended Family member and local resident of Oneonta you interviewed?

2.    What does it mean to be American and to be a member of Oneonta’s community to you?

3.    How can these feelings of Nationalism and localism be related to the strong Nationalist sentiments of World War One? How did the Allies and Central Powers distinguish themselves from each other? How did they do this? (Propaganda, news media, culture, traditions, language, art).

You will have to use the notes and power points we’ve done in class to help you answer these questions. We are going to have a few class periods for research time.

Examples of how to connect your interviews to World War One:

Compare the type of wording (rhetoric) used by the people you interviewed to the rhetoric used by political leaders leading up to and during WWI.

Compare the information you have gotten on American Nationalism and fit it into one aspect of WWI.

If the person I interview wears an American flag shirt that says “these colors don’t run”, or that says “support the troops”, how does this relate to WWI sentiments on military service or supporting the military?

If the person you interview feels that American values are superior to other nations’ values, how does this relate to how the nations in WWI felt about each others’ cultural values?

________________________________________________________________________

Project Timeline	Assignment	Check
Monday, March 12th	The names and contact info of the people you are going to interview. Worth 5 pts. a.     Your Extended Family Member b.     The name of the local resident of Oneonta.
Wednesday, March 21	Interview Sheets need to be filled out: 10 pts.
Monday, March 26th	Write Ups and Presentations are due: 60 pts.
Wednesday March 28th – 30th	In Class Presentations: 25 pts.

Who am I interviewing?/ Groups and Genre

Due Monday March 12^th

Extended Family Member

Name:

Contact Information:

Occupation:

_____________________________________________________________

Who am I interviewing?

Local Resident of Oneonta: (Someone you are NOT related to)

Name:

Contact Information:

Occupation:

_____________________________________________________________

Group: You may present this project solo or with max 4 people.

Names of people in your group:

Presentation Mode:

What is Nationalism: In Oneonta & America

Interview Sheets: DUE Wednesday March 21st

Extended Family Member:

Name:

Contact Information: (a phone number)

Occupation:

Age (Approximately):

How long have you lived in Oneonta and in what section? How do you like living in Oneonta?

Do you feel that there are characteristics of people who live in Oneonta that makes them distinct or unique from other towns in the area, like Milford, Laurens, Franklin, or Unadilla?

What values do you associate with being 1. An Oneontan, 2. An American?  Would you die to defend these values? Why?

What does it mean to be an American to you?

Do you think America is naturally a better nation than others around the world? Why?

Local Member of Oneonta’s Community: (Someone who lives in Oneonta that you do not know well).

Name:

Contact Information: (a phone number)

Occupation:

Age (Approximately):

How long have you lived in Oneonta and in what section? How do you like living in Oneonta?

Do you feel that there are characteristics of people who live in Oneonta that makes them distinct or unique from other towns in the area, like Milford, Laurens, Franklin, or Unadilla?

What values do you associate with being 1. An Oneontan, 2. An American?  Would you die to defend these values?

What does it mean to be an American to you?

Do you think America is naturally a better nation than others around the world? Why?

Your Own Self Interview

Name:

Contact Information: (a phone number)

Occupation:

Age (Approximately):

How long have you lived in Oneonta and in what section? How do you like living in Oneonta?

Do you feel that there are characteristics of people who live in Oneonta that makes them distinct or unique from other towns in the area, like Milford, Laurens, Franklin, or Unadilla?

What values do you associate with being 1. An Oneontan, 2. An American?  Would you die to defend these values?

What does it mean to be an American to you?

Do you think America is naturally a better nation than others around the world? Why?

Part III: Presentation

Students will have a wide range of options to present their findings.

Note: Students are still individually responsible for their interviews. You may NOT partner up for the interview portion of Part I.

Genres of Presentation (these are suggestions, if you have something different in mind, we’ll talk about it):

Newscast                        Video                        Music                        Artistic            Mini-Play           

Oral Presentation            Traditional Essay                        Comedy            Poetry                                   

An Interview Map            Google Earth Tour                        Blog            Vlog            Podcast

News Article                        Short-Story                        Traditional Poster Board Presentation

Short Movie                        Documentary

During this portion, students may form groups, however, they must incorporate all their interview findings together in their presentations and follow the rubric for their choice of genre.