Chapter Six: Subjectivity and Citizenship in Institutional Performances
Focuses on institutional domains of socialization in three contexts: schoolchildren’s performances on a patriotic day; music and language in the Moravian church; and the Corn Island commemoration of the emancipation from slavery. These domains connect the intimate spaces of the family and peer group to larger social and political structures, which increasingly come to shape children’s pathways as they grow older.
Terms:
• Cultural citizenship
• Institutional socialization
Questions for reflection:
1. On Corn Island, nation and region are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can be layered, and “either one can come to the foreground in particular moments of performance or political struggle” (pg. 148). In your view, how does this compare to the relationship between nationalism and regionalism (or other frameworks of identity) in the U.S.?
2. What are challenges to implementing human rights standards across cultures and how do some of these challenges play out on Corn Island?
3. What role did the Moravian church play in shaping national and regional identities through language and music?
4. How can performances of diversity and citizenship shape relations between social groups? How can marginalized groups effect a “process of rethinking diversity and participation in public culture” through performance? (pg. 165, 164)
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- Palillonas (baton twirlers) performing their routine in the baseball field. On the far left, a snare drummer listens and watches carefully for the whistle and hand signals of the director
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- The Moravian church youth band performing behind amplifiers set to high volume
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- A poster made at the Moravion school for the emancipation celebration, bearing images of the boat carrying the British colonel and Miskitu king to Corn Island, a slave breaking his chains, and people dancing and making crab soup on the beach
