Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity

In 1971, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) put their national dreams forward and celebrated the federation of the UAE. Since then, the UAE has changed rapidly to become a globalised country that aspires to achieve international prominence, thereby affecting Emiratis and exposing them to e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Al Sumaiti, Rabaa (author)
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/642
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1862980618058465280
author Al Sumaiti, Rabaa
author_facet Al Sumaiti, Rabaa
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Al Sumaiti, Rabaa
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014-09-01T07:34:31Z
2014-09-01T07:34:31Z
2014-01
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 90009
http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/642
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Citizenship -- Study and teaching.
national Identity
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Emirati undergraduate students
higher education curricula
cultural strategy
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Thesis
description In 1971, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) put their national dreams forward and celebrated the federation of the UAE. Since then, the UAE has changed rapidly to become a globalised country that aspires to achieve international prominence, thereby affecting Emiratis and exposing them to external factors at odds with Emirati values emerging from Muslim and Arab culture. This has caused great concern regarding Emirati youth national identities, and the possibility that they are building weak understandings of their culture and citizenship. This doctoral thesis explores four Emirati female undergraduate students’ experiences of national identity through cultural and political symbols. The theoretical framework is a synthesis of Mead’s (1934) and Goffman’s (1959) symbolic interactionism and Moscovici’s (1988) social representation theory. The study follows a social constructivist methodology based on narrative and ethnography using participant observations, ethnographic interviews, and visual methods to createstories of national identity experiences. The findings demonstrate that the students’ experience of national identities in everyday contexts included socially interacting with cultural and political symbols producing an internalised image of the UAE they relate to their objectives and future ambitions. Recommendations include addressing further research and theoretical implications of identity studies in the region, reviewing higher education curricula and youth programmes, as well as the need for a comprehensive cultural strategy in the UAE.
id budr_a2aceb137400f4257345db7d3d869c1a
identifier_str_mv 90009
language_invalid_str_mv en
network_acronym_str budr
network_name_str The British University in Dubai repository
oai_identifier_str oai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/642
publishDate 2014
publisher.none.fl_str_mv The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository_id_str
spelling Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National IdentityAl Sumaiti, RabaaCitizenship -- Study and teaching.national IdentityUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)Emirati undergraduate studentshigher education curriculacultural strategyIn 1971, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) put their national dreams forward and celebrated the federation of the UAE. Since then, the UAE has changed rapidly to become a globalised country that aspires to achieve international prominence, thereby affecting Emiratis and exposing them to external factors at odds with Emirati values emerging from Muslim and Arab culture. This has caused great concern regarding Emirati youth national identities, and the possibility that they are building weak understandings of their culture and citizenship. This doctoral thesis explores four Emirati female undergraduate students’ experiences of national identity through cultural and political symbols. The theoretical framework is a synthesis of Mead’s (1934) and Goffman’s (1959) symbolic interactionism and Moscovici’s (1988) social representation theory. The study follows a social constructivist methodology based on narrative and ethnography using participant observations, ethnographic interviews, and visual methods to createstories of national identity experiences. The findings demonstrate that the students’ experience of national identities in everyday contexts included socially interacting with cultural and political symbols producing an internalised image of the UAE they relate to their objectives and future ambitions. Recommendations include addressing further research and theoretical implications of identity studies in the region, reviewing higher education curricula and youth programmes, as well as the need for a comprehensive cultural strategy in the UAE.The British University in Dubai (BUiD)2014-09-01T07:34:31Z2014-09-01T07:34:31Z2014-01Thesisapplication/pdf90009http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/642enoai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/6422021-08-23T05:57:22Z
spellingShingle Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
Al Sumaiti, Rabaa
Citizenship -- Study and teaching.
national Identity
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Emirati undergraduate students
higher education curricula
cultural strategy
title Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
title_full Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
title_fullStr Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
title_full_unstemmed Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
title_short Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
title_sort Narratives of the Maps: Emirati Undergraduate Students’ Stories of National Identity
topic Citizenship -- Study and teaching.
national Identity
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Emirati undergraduate students
higher education curricula
cultural strategy
url http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/642