HASS8 C&C - Australia's National Identity: Home

Contemporary Australian society is a patchwork of cultural and ethnic diversity. Australians are largely embracing of multiculturalism and welcoming of those born overseas, however being ‘Australian’ can describe a broad range of characteristics, behaviours and attitudes. National identity and pride in being Australian regularly influence public debate in Australia, but they are not always clearly defined. How do Australians living in a multicultural society identify with their national identity, and how do they view themselves as citizens?

This animated video provides a fun introduction to some of the key features of Australian democracy.

SOURCE: YouTube (2018) Australian Human Rights Commission, Duration: 1:37 mins.

Assimilation: Altering of one culture’s social characteristics to conform to those of another, usually the dominant or majority group.
Nationalism: Generally used to describe two phenomena: (1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity; and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take.

Cultural diversity: Description of a society composed of people from many different cultural and linguistic groups.

Cultural identity: A person’s sense of self-identity related to their notion of belonging to a particular cultural or ethnic group.
Ethnicity: The identity of groups based on shared characteristics such as language, culture, history or geographic origin.

Ethnocentrism: The tendency to judge all other cultures by the norms and standards of one’s own culture; the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own group and culture accompanied by feelings of contempt for other groups and cultures.
Immigrant: An immigrant, or migrant, is someone born outside Australia but who is now permanently resident in Australia.

Indigenous Australians: Collective term used to refer to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people.IntegrationFitting into mainstream society on an equitable basis but without necessarily abandoning distinctive cultural traits.

Multiculturalism: A term which recognises and celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It accepts and respects the right of all Australians to express and share their individual cultural heritage within an overriding commitment to Australia and the basic structures and values of Australian democracy.
Nationalism: Generally used to describe two phenomena: (1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity; and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to achieve (or sustain) self-determination.