Abstract
This chapter considers different conceptualisations of Welshness and Basqueness and key contributing factors as viewed through the eyes of focus group participants. It examines the applicability of a popular continuum of identity and explores whether Welshness and Basqueness are considered open or closed identities, their permanence and durability in the eyes of their identifiers and their acceptance of the concept of becoming or ceasing to be Welsh or Basque. It considers the importance and everyday salience of identity, any associated responsibilities and obligations, and problematises the multiplicity of identity in geographical and linguistic terms. In both cases, the intangibility of identity is highlighted, alongside its lack of importance and salience on an everyday basis. The notion of a popular continuum of identity, wherein someone may be considered more or less Welsh or Basque than another person, is largely substantiated. The ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’ paradigm is a key feature, as is the lack of multiplicity of identity, despite the popularly held notion that people experience an identity in different ways depending on different circumstances. Overall, a great deal of similarity is found between the two cases, when their superficial differences would suggest that this would not be the case.
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Notes
- 1.
Qualitative focus groups were used to generate the data underpinning this analysis. Questions were grouped into discussion topics, with participants allowed some freedom within these parameters. Conversations were transcribed word-for-word and analysed according to the data analysis framework. Data are presented as individual speech units and larger conversations, with different groups and participants identified clearly. Groups are identified by name and either ‘3 Wales Model’ location (Swansea, Caerphilly and Tumble representing Welsh Wales, Aberystwyth students, Llanystumdwy and Caernarfon representing Y Fro Gymraeg and Newport and Mold representing British Wales), or location in one of the five areas of the Basque Country (Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Navarra and the French Basque Country). Participants are identified as P1, P2, etc. M refers to focus group moderator. Please see Appendices One and Two for details on focus group participants.
- 2.
Richard Jenkins, Social Identity , 3rd edn. (London and New York: Routledge, 2008).
- 3.
Pantycelyn is a Welsh-medium hall of residence in Aberystwyth University.
- 4.
James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin ‘Violence and the Social Construction of Ethnic Identity’, International Organisation, 54.4 (2000), 845–877.
- 5.
Michael Billig, Banal Nationalism (London: Sage, 1995).
- 6.
Michael Billig, Banal Nationalism (London: Sage 1995).
- 7.
James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin, ‘Violence and the Social Construction of Ethnic Identity’, International Organisation, 54.4 (2000), 845–877.
- 8.
Richard Jenkins, Social Identity , 3rd edn. (London and New York: Routledge, 2008).
- 9.
Jennifer Todd, ‘Social Transformation, Collective Categories and Identity Change’, Theory and Society, 34.4 (August 2005), 438.
- 10.
Nikolas Coupland, Hywel Bishop, and Peter Garrett, ‘One Wales? Reassessing Diversity in Welsh Ethnolinguistic Identification’, Contemporary Wales , 18 (2006).
- 11.
‘Cofi’ is a term for someone from Caernarfon who speaks with a particular dialect and accent.
- 12.
Jenkins, Richard, Social Identity , 3rd edn. (London and New York: Routledge, 2008).
- 13.
David McCrone, The Sociology of Nationalism (London and New York: Routledge, 1998).
- 14.
Andrew Thompson and Graham Day, ‘Situating Welshness: “Local” Experience and National Identity’, in Nation, Identity and Social Theory: Perspectives from Wales by Ralph Fevre and Andrew Thompson, eds. (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1999).
- 15.
Fiona Bowie, ‘Wales from Within: Conflicting Interpretations of Welsh Identity’, in Inside European Identities by Sharon Macdonald, ed., (Providence, RI and Oxford: Berg, 1993).
- 16.
Rhys Jones and Carwyn Fowler, Placing the Nation: Aberystwyth and the Reproduction of Welsh Nationalism (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2008).
References
Billig, Michael, Banal Nationalism (London: Sage, 1995).
Coupland, Nikolas, Bishop, Hywel, and Garrett, Peter, ‘One Wales? Reassessing Diversity in Welsh Ethnolinguistic Identification’, Contemporary Wales, 18 (2006).
Fearon, James D. and Laitin, David D. ‘Violence and the Social Construction of Ethnic Identity’, International Organisation, 54.4 (2000), 845–877.
Fevre, Ralph and Thompson, Andrew, eds., Nation, Identity and Social Theory: Perspectives from Wales (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1999).
Jenkins, Richard, Social Identity, 3rd edn. (London and New York: Routledge, 2008).
Jones, Rhys and Fowler, Carwyn, Placing the Nation: Aberystwyth and the Reproduction of Welsh Nationalism (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2008).
Macdonald, Sharon, ed., Inside European Identities (Providence, RI and Oxford: Berg, 1993).
McCrone, David, The Sociology of Nationalism (London and New York: Routledge, 1998).
Todd, Jennifer, ‘Social Transformation, Collective Categories and Identity Change’, Theory and Society, 34.4 (August 2005), 438.
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Williams, S. (2019). Ordinary Conceptualisations of Welshness and Basqueness. In: Rethinking Stateless Nations and National Identity in Wales and the Basque Country. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91409-1_3
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