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…in the established nations, there is a continual ‘flagging’, or reminding, of
nationhood. The established nations are those states that have confidence in their
own continuity, and that, particularly, are part of what is conventionally described as
‘the West’. The political leaders of such nations—whether France, the USA, the
United Kingdom or New Zealand—are not typically termed ‘nationalists’. However,
as will be suggested, nationhood provides a continual background for their political
discourses…In so many little ways, the citizenry are daily reminded of their national
place in a world of nations. However, this reminding is so familiar, so continual, that
it is not consciously registered as reminding. The metonymic image of banal
nationalism is not a flag which is being consciously waved with fervent passion; it is
the flag hanging unnoticed on the public building. (1995, p. 8).
This statement connects with the analysis of textbooks conducted for this dissertation,
highlighting British heritages and Indigenous representations as an outward demonstration of
the implicit nationalism and expected ‘take up’ of nation identity that is taught to students. In
a way textbooks include multiple types of nationalism: instances of the ‘exotic’ arise in
historical narratives of the battle of Gallipoli in WWI for British Heritages and violent
clashes between explorers and Indigenous Australians for Indigenous representations; and
instances of the ‘banal’ are communicated through impersonal narratives about, for example,
prime ministers and elections; and kinship or moiety systems. However, each type is
powerful in communicating specific ideologies of how nationalism and national identity is
viewed by the textbook authors and the curriculum writers, gatekeepers of the official
knowledge.
Turning now to look at the competing perspectives of the construction of the ‘nation’,
particularly its relevance in contemporary contexts; Luke acknowledges the rapid
acceleration of an increasingly global society, discussing the complexities of dealing with
national identity and citizenship in schooling in the postindustrial world, by asserting:
…postindustrial and rapidly industrialising nation states alike are engaged in
ongoing, often acrimonious debates about whether and how schooling might respond
to new forms of national identity and citizenship, and changing practices and
divisions of labor generated by economic globalization and new technologies
(Kellner, 1997). In spite of fears that the domination of the new public sphere by
multinational media corporations would silence diasporic communities, there is
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