An Exploration of the Nationalism through Ideological Installation in Front of Public-School Flagpoles
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Abstract
This article aims to explore and analyze the instillation of nationalist ideology through activities conducted in front of public-school flagpoles in both foreign countries and Thailand from 2014-2024. Digital ethnography and netnography methods were used to collect secondary data from 30 digital sources. The selection criteria for literature included research data from seven databases: SAGE Journals, Taylor & Francis, EBSCO, TCI, and ThaiLIS. The study found information from 10 countries: the Philippines, Taiwan, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Ethiopia, Turkey, and Thailand, as well as from social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. The data was analyzed and interpreted using Althusser’s (1971, 2014) concept of ideological state apparatuses. The results revealed that the installation of nationalist ideology involved activities such as national flag ceremonies, prayers, recitation of the pledge of allegiance, sermons delivered by teachers, and school announcements. These activities embodied a duplicate mirror-structure of ideology that required students to participate and follow rules related to behavior, expression, and appearance, including wearing uniforms and maintaining regulated hairstyles with obedience and composure. Failure to comply resulted in the use of repressive state apparatuses, such as disciplinary punishment. This study challenges the notion that students completely submit to the imposed ideology. When the process of nationalist ideology installation concluded, students did not necessarily place importance on or feel connected to the prescribed behaviors. Instead, they often engaged with these activities half-heartedly, talked or laughed with peers, and found them mundane. The author proposes that these activities should be restructured into learning spaces that encourage students to engage in critical thinking about patriotism in a creative manner, fostering their development as active citizens in a democratic society.
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