Simultaneous Identities: Language, Education, and the Nepali Nation

ISBN-13: 9781108489928 / Angielski / Twarda / 2021 / 290 str.

Uma Pradhan (University of Oxford)

Opis

The recent socio-political changes in Nepal have brought assimilationist notions of Nepali nationalism under a tight scrutiny and drawn attention to more plural, inclusive, and diverse notions of Nepaliness. However, both assimilationist and pluralist visions continue to remain normative in their approach, and often posit ethnic and national identity in opposition to each other. Drawing on the everyday practices in the two schools, this book illustrates that social actors in minority language education did not necessarily select between minority identity and national identity, but instead made simultaneous claims to more than one social identity by discursively positioning 'ethnic identity' as 'national identity'. It builds on the notion of 'simultaneity' to illustrate that it is through the 'unresolved co-presences' of apparently contradictory ways that people maintain their multi-layered identities. By arguing for an analytical necessity to adopt relational approach, it aims to complicate the neat compartmentalisation of identities.

Recenzje

'… Simultaneous Identities is a well-written ethnography that … offers a fascinating read on ethnography and presents a rethinking of multiculturalism in the context of Nepal … it makes in-depth observations based on everyday detail and existing literatures, providing an analysis of nuanced relations among the agents of power from a cultural perspective … as it is written by an indigenous Newar researcher, the book provides an impressive reflection on the researcher's position.' Jingwei Li, Journal of Contemporary Asia

Spis treści

List of figures and images; List of acronyms; Introduction. Language, education, and the Nepali nation; 1. Language, education, and state-making in Nepal; 2. Constructing an educated person; in mother tongue; 3. Language, public space, and identity; 4. Transforming a language to script; 5. Knowledge-making, language, and education; 6. Quality, equality, and language ideology; 7. Ethnicity, education, and employment; Conclusion. Simultaneous identities.