Manifestations of affective nationalism and representations of national ‘others’ in literature education: An ethnographic study

Abstract

Situated in the conflict-affected Cypriot context, this paper aims to explore the affective dimension of nationalism as manifested in the representations of national ‘others’ in a Greek-Cypriot secondary school. Drawing on data from a linguistic ethnographic study looking at the negotiations of ethnic and intercultural education discourses, we focus on a series of classroom interactions discussing a poem written by a Turkish-Cypriot poet and how this text was interpreted by Greek-Cypriot students in focus group discussions. Our analysis shows how Turks and Turkish-Cypriots are affectively construed as national ‘others’, perpetuating dichotomies of ‘we’ and ‘they’. We also discuss the ambivalent feelings the particular poem brought, challenging hegemonic representations and feelings attached to those. The paper concludes with implications for education policies and practices.