One of the sections in Gutek chapter seven is titled “Cultural Artifacts.” The section discusses the influence of expressed nationalism; nationalism is embedded through living history, things such as art, music, literature and architecture. The section gives numerous examples, internationally from China to France to India to the United States, and across the span of history, of cultural artifacts; things such as the Eiffel Tower, Yankee Doodle, the Great Wall, and Wagner’s operas. These items, which are either tangible or can be experienced in a physical manner, are treasured by a culture; they are preserved by the government, but they are also found in schools.
Personally, I know that my education was incredibly influenced by the culture around me. From elementary school to college, I have learned about my town and the surrounding area, to the state level and country, as well as foreign language classes through embodiment of culture. For example, my fifth grade class went to Sandy Hook, where we saw the historical lighthouse, and to a local house with a museum about colonial life in
Additionally, in my language classes we learn about these cultural artifacts and, if possible, we experienced them. It requires more resources to go to experience these other cultures, but I learned about travel destinations, musical works, art, and such through research and projects. When I was abroad, I took a theater class and we visited theaters across the region. Even here at Emory I went to see an opera to experience national sentiment of a particular era. These elements are about nationalism, students who are being educated in a particular school do not have a choice whether or not to learn about them, regardless of their own nationality or personal background. They are elements of the school system and a means by which students learn history, language, and other school subjects.
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