Critical Reflection Paper 2

Reflecting on “Nationalism and Heritage Minutes”

During class we discussed what do the Canadian heritage minutes tell us about Canada? The Heritage Minutes were produced by the privately owned Historica Foundation, created by Charles R. Bronfman and the CRB Foundation to “enhance Canadianism”. The use of satire in these commercials portrays multiculturalism with no conflicts, they show Canada is politically progressive, and also show Canadian pride and the importance of our Military. The Canadian heritage minutes show important events and figures in Canadian history and inspire Canadians to learn more about their history and nationalism. There is also a use of “Canadian comedy” in some of the heritage minutes which are used to address historical things about the country that become traditional. The Canadian identity is often combined of ideological effects of Canada that are presented in the Canadian heritage minutes such as; that it is generous, that public health care and education are valued, and that it is a safe country to live in. This is how nationalism is presented in the Canadian heritage minutes and they present how the nation has been historically defined. There are also symbols which the heritage minutes presented that show elements of nationalism such as how the Canadian flag was brought about with the maple leaf and the color red. Canadian nationalism is also featured in the heritage minutes through our ability to communicate with one another despite the bilingual barrier; this is demonstrated in the heritage minute video about two politicians from Upper and Lower Canada who demonstrate French/English cooperation when LaFontaine seeks election in Toronto and goes on to help shape democratic reforms for all of Canada. Another factor is the survival of Canadian victims such as women struggling against female discrimination to practice medicine in Canada; this is demonstrated in the heritage minute video about Jennie Trout's struggle against prejudice to become the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada. In the heritage minutes series they present the role of important figures in Canada who have an impact on the development of the Canadian nation. Hockey is a huge sport in Canada that brought its citizen together and captured the heart of the nation. An example from the heritage minute’s video is about the legendary hockey star Maurice "Rocket" Richard, who scored 8 points after spending 8 hours moving his family from one end of Montreal to the other:
http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10217
The heritage minutes succeeded to encourage the growth of one type of national interpretation by establishing a “community of discourse” for Canadians.

Critical Reflection Paper 1

Reflecting on ‘State Formation’

When we come to define a state we can say that a specific territory has a state that has authority over every resident of the area. ‘Authority of state’ means the ability to declare and enforce the law of the land. State has a monopoly over the legitimate means of power; they claim the right to apply coercive force. As Max Weber’s definition of the state is “an entity that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in any given territory.” A state comes into being, through the use of force; it is applied by violence that is to be done by people who are authorized by the state. The question brought up in the lecture notes is “How did the Canadian state come-into-being through violence?” An obvious answer would be that the laws announced by the state determine the duties and the rights of the state subjects. For example, in today’s society one of these duties is the payment of taxes; giving away a part of our income to the state is law enforced on everyone. There are also the rights to express you opinions but that does not change most of the laws enforced. If we compare the nation with the state out of curiosity; we could ask ourselves ‘Is the nation an entity that has a monopoly over the legitimate means of power on any territory?’ Now the state is ‘real’ in the sense of having clearly drawn boundaries, both on the map and on the land. For example Canada is shown on the map separate from the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the same cannot be said about the nation; the nation is not a ‘reality’ because it does not exist. The nation only exists as an entity as long as its members mentally and emotionally ‘identify themselves’ with a collective body. Nations usually occupy a continuous territory, but hardly any nations have a monopoly of residence on any territory. Within any territory there is people living side-by-side who define themselves as belonging to different nations. The nation usually consists of a group of people who share a common culture and language. Nationalisms normally demand power, the right to use coercion, in order to preserve the nation. As stated in the lecture notes “What makes the use of force legitimate in state formation is that it is recognized in law as such.” It has come to my attention that the nation is what complies with the law. The state makes the law and the nation has its claim to the land. As much as the state needs nationalism for its legitimating, nationalism needs the state for its effectiveness. The national state is the product of this mutual attraction.