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Childhood
2019, Vol. 26(1) 83 –97
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Pedagogy o na ion:
A concep and me hod o
esea ch na ionalism in young
child en’s ins i u ional li es
Zsuzsa Millei
Tampe e Uni e si y, Finland
Abs ac
In ou cu en con ex , esea ching how young child en encoun e and inhabi he na ion among
di e se people is e e -mo e impo an . In socie ies ee o con lic , he na ion ope a es benea h
he su ace, he e o e, i is di icul o s udy. By b inging oge he he pe spec i es o ‘e e yday
na ionalism’ and ‘cul u al pedagogy’, I de elop he concep o ‘pedagogy o na ion’ o ocus on and
accoun o a ious didac ic means h ough which young child en lea n o inhabi he na ion and
o u he explo e e e yday na ionalism.
Keywo ds
Cul u al pedagogy, di e si y, e e yday na ionalism, ins i u ions, socio-ma e ial p ac ices
In oduc ion
Ve y young child en encoun e and nego ia e di e en ideas and p ac ices o na ionalism,
pe o mances o na ional iden i y and eelings o he na ion in educa ion se ings (Beneï,
2008: 96; Leona d, 2012; Ma oudi and Hol , 2015; Millei and Im e, 2015; Zembylas,
2010). This is no su p ising since in ins i u ional spaces, he s a e seeks o e/asse he
p imacy o na ional communi y in i s ci izen’s hinking, beings and eelings, o exam-
ple, h ough na ional his o y o geog aphy cu icula, o in he unning o e e yday li e
amed by na ional policies ha ha monize, se no ma i e amewo ks and limi s on how
li e un olds (Bonikowski, 2016). I ensions a ise in he nego ia ions o iden i ies, o
example, in e e yday con e sa ions, na ionalism is usually abso bed by exis ing ins i u-
ional p ac ices in s able, mode n democ acies (Bonikowski, 2016: 429). A o he places
Co esponding au ho :
Zsuzsa Millei, Facul y o Educa ion and Cul u e, Tampe e Uni e si y, Kansle in inne 1, 33014 Tampe e,
Finland.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
810078CHD0010.1177/0907568218810078ChildhoodMillei
esea ch-a icle2018
A icle
84 Childhood 26(1)
and imes, such as in uns able poli ical egimes, imes o c isis o du ing imes o social
ans o ma ion, unde lying na ionalism can c ys allize and lead o heigh ened na ional
awa eness and, o example, o sepa a is o an i-mig a ion poli ics. Due o ou cu en
con ex o populism and apidly shi ing poli ics o he igh ha ely on hese c ys al-
lized and highly po en o ms o na ionalism, o know mo e abou how he na ion
becomes young child en’s ‘second na u e’ (Fox, 2017: 35) in ins i u ional spaces and in
se led imes is e e -mo e impo an , bu as ye we know li le abou i .
In e e yday li e, he na ion o en ope a es ‘jus benea h he su ace, unde pinning he
social o de wi hou equi ing, o e en pe mi ing, much inke ing’ (Fox, 2017: 26).
Na ionalism wanes in o he ab ic o e e yday li e, i is ‘unseen, unhea d, unno iced; his
kind o na ionalism ope a es o he ada . I ’s e e ywhe e, ye disce nible nowhe e’
(Billig, 1995; Fox, 2017: 27). Due o i s na u e, i is di icul o explo e e e yday na ion-
alism, bu i is p esen in mundane and embodied p ac ices, such as d i ing (Edenso ,
2006), dish washing (Linde-Lau sen, 1993) o shopping (Skey, 2015). In ins i u ional
ca e o young child en, e e yday na ionalism akes i s shape in daily schedules, p io i ies
laid on ce ain alues, o embodied p ac ices o ea ing, d essing and celeb a ions, in
language use, such as manda ing he na ional language o mig an s o ‘speaking’ in skin
colou (S ini asan, 2016), o in mundane play (MacNaugh on, 2001). In he explo a ion
o Finnish p eschool cul u e, Lappalainen (2006: 103), o example, e eals how go e n-
ance o ime is an impo an pa o ‘a na ional pedagogy’ o shape mig an pa en s’
beha iou . In an e e yday s uggle be ween p o essionals and amilies, he abili y o
ollow ime ables and ‘p omp ness became de ined as a Finnish na ional i ue’ (p. 104).
In hese p ac ices, he na ion is ep oduced as he aken o g an ed o de o hings and
way o li e ha child en pa icipa e in.
E e yday na ionalism ecoun s he con inui y o he e e yday e/p oduc ion o
na ional amewo ks h ough coun less si ua ed ac i i ies (Edenso , 2002). I ocuses on
‘how ela i ely consis en sense o sel , place, and ime is ( e)p oduced h ough ou ine
habi s, aken- o -g an ed symbolic sys ems and amilia ma e ial en i onmen s’ (Skey,
2011: 35) These ac i i ies o en appea as in e nalized and na u alized habi s, whe e he
na ion ‘ope a e[s] mindlessly, a he han mind ully’ (Billig, 1995: 38). While p opo-
nen s discuss he mul iple ways and o ms in which e e yday na ionalism ope a es, and
poin o socializa ion o desc ibe how knowledge, p ac ices and eelings come o be
in e nalized also signalling an educa i e p ocess (see mo e in Fox, 2017), hey a ely
in e oga e h ough wha ac ual p ocesses, expe iences, ela ions and si ua ed ac i i ies
his educa i e p ocess akes place o pay a en ion o he educa i e elemen s and o ces
p esen in e e yday encoun e s.
In his a icle, I o e a new concep – pedagogy o na ion, which helps o ien a e
esea ch o his educa i e p ocess in iden i ying i s elemen s and o ces in p agma ic
esea ch. I also spell ou he ela ions be ween eaching and lea ning (pedagogy) he
na ion ha poin s hen o how in en ional pedagogy can o needs o be. In concep ualiz-
ing pedagogy o na ion, he o m o pedagogy I d aw on ope a es as a ‘cul u al elay’ o
e/p oduce cul u e in gene al wi hou necessi a ing he p esence o elying only on human
eache s (Wa kins e al., 2015). I add o pedagogy he pos sc ip ‘o na ion’ o signal he
scope o agenda o hese educa i e encoun e s. ‘Na ional pedagogy’ has been coined by
Tuomaala (2000) o desc ibe in en ional eaching p ac ices in p e/schools, h ough which
Millei 85
an imagined and homogeneous na ional communi y is o ged, e e encing Ande son’s
wo k (1991; see mo e in Lappalainen, 2006). In ‘na ional pedagogy’ he emphasis is on
he o ma ion o indi iduals h ough in en ional educa ional p ac ices, such as eaching
he cu icula o hidden cu iculum by a eache . In he concep o ‘pedagogy o na ion’
ha I de elop he e, less explici and non-in en ional bu s ill educa i e encoun e s, inci e-
men o a will o lea n in child en, and non-human eache s (such as he en i onmen ),
spaces and emo ions a e also included, as I ou line below.
I de elop he concep o ‘pedagogy o na ion’ by d awing on Wa kins (2011, 2015,
2017), We he ell (2015) and Ahmed’s (2004) wo k. Since my in e es is o ou line wha
educa i e p ocesses lea ning he na ion en ails, I ely mo e on Wa kins’s wo k ha ocuses
on cul u al habi ua ion, and eaching and lea ning ela ions. All hese au ho s emphasize
he ole o an o he (human and non-human), space, ela ions o bodies in place, and emo-
ions and a ec shaping he indi idual and he social, which all also ha e a p ominen ole
in educa i e p ocesses ha I ou line below. While one could a gue ha hese educa i e
p ocesses ma k all aspec s o li e, wi h his concep I single ou hose ha a e ela ed o
na ion. Fi s , howe e , I b ie ly ou line he exis ing li e a u e, s udying how he na ion is
p esen in child en’s li es. Then, I de elop he concep o ‘pedagogy o na ion’ o explo e
educa i e p ocesses ela ed o na ion. To ollow, I in oduce h ee e en s obse ed as pa
o an e hnog aphic s udy wi h 4 and 5 yea -old child en, and h ough hei analysis I u -
he de elop his concep , a he same ime demons a ing how his concep can be ope a-
ionalized as a me hod o he explo a ion o e e yday na ionalism.
Child en pe o m he na ion
The la ges body o wo k wi h ega d o how child en ela e o he na ion is loca ed in he
cogni i e de elopmen al pa adigm (Scou ield e al., 2006a). F om psychological s ud-
ies, we know ha many child en al eady know some o hei coun ies’ na ional symbolic
emblems, such as lags, he na ional an hems and so on by 5–6 yea s o age (Ba e ,
2007). Child en’s app oaches owa ds na ional g oups a e a ied and wi h ime hey
become mo e posi i e o nega i e, o ebb and low (Ba e , 2007). Psychological s udies
explo e a i udes, p ejudice and s e eo yping in indi idual child en and iden i ica ion
wi h in-g oups o ou -g oups.
Young child en (e en as young as a couple o yea s old) mobilize hese iden i ica ions
and ep esen a ions o na ion and use hose in hei e e yday li e o include and exclude
(e.g. Beneï, 2008; Bu man, 2008; Cheney, 2007; Coles, 1986; Habashi, 2008; Ha ,
2002; Leona d, 2012; MacNaugh on, 2001; Scou ield e al., 2006a; S ini asan, 2016;
S ephens, 1995; Zembylas, 2010). In hese iden i ica ions, child en d aw on a a ie y o
cons uc s o ‘na ion’ and ‘na ionali y’, and hei in e sec ions wi h ace, class, gende ,
eligion, language, land and o he cul u al ma ke s. In socie ies di ided by in e nal cul-
u al and e hnic di isions and con lic s, signi ie s o he na ion o en become alo ized
by child en who c ea i ely use hose as symbols o supe io i y, exclusion o opp ession
o be esis ed and sub e ed (Beneï, 2008; Habashi, 2008; Ha , 2002; Leona d, 2012;
Zembylas, 2010). These s udies powe ully demons a e he ways in which child en ake
up, esis and eshape imagina ies o he na ion and o m dynamic subjec i i ies wi hin
he complex geopoli ics en eloping hei daily li es.
86 Childhood 26(1)
Shi ing away om he idea ional ield o na ionalism, esea ch also explo es how
na ionalis discou ses and p ac ices a e ep oduced and pe o med in e e yday con ex s
(An onsich, 2015; Jones and Me iman, 2009; Skey, 2011, e c). They explo e bodily
p ac ices, ma e iali ies, hy hms, emo ions and a ec i i y (e.g. Ande son, 2009;
An onsich and Skey, 2016; Closs S ephens, 2016; Edenso , 2002, 2006; Huijsmans and
Lan, 2015). These s udies illus a e he con ex -speci ic ways in which indi iduals,
g oups, o ins i u ions engage in ep oducing he na ion h ough ansien p ocesses
whe e na ional imes and p ac ices pe o med in a ied ways. How young child en pe -
o m and eel he na ion in s able democ acies and du ing se led imes is only explo ed
by a small body o esea ch (see o example, Lappalainen, 2006; MacNaugh on, 2001;
S ini asan, 2016; Waniganayake and Donegan, 1999). Lappalainen discusses he impo -
ance o Lu he an celeb a ions, whe e in e sec ions o ace and gende in celeb a o y
p ac ices play a la ge ole in he e/p oduc ion o he na ion in he p eschool. S ini asan
(2016) and MacNaugh on (2001: 48–49) con ex ualize hei s udies as a pa o he pos -
colonial and pos Whi e Aus alia policy pe iod and shows how o child en ace–colou
do ma e , hey ake Whi eness as desi able, o he ness as exo ic and he da k ‘O he ’ as
ea ul, hus ec ea ing he ins i u ional cul u e o Whi e Aus alia wi hin hei e e yday
p eschool encoun e s.
These s udies ichly demons a e ha child en ha e knowledge abou , e/p oduce,
iden i y wi h and ha e emo ions o he na ion, hei own na ional communi y and he
O he . The e y p ocesses h ough which young child en inhabi and lea n he na ion,
how hey come o associa e wi h, o m sensibili ies and emo ions owa ds he na ion, and
wha oles educa i e p ocesses play in hose emain less in e oga ed. I p opose he con-
cep o ‘pedagogy o na ion’ o help explo e hese p ocesses.
Pedagogy o na ion
Fo my agenda he e, I unde s and na ionalism as p ac ice ha in ol es people’s hinking,
ac ing and eeling. In his iew o ‘e e yday na ionalism’, na ions a e made eal and
meaning ul o people in social in e ac ions in local places o e e yday encoun e s
(B ubake , 2009; Skey, 2011). ‘E e yday na ionalism’ concei es he na ion as a p ocess
ha con inuously ein en s i sel adjus ing o changing ci cums ances o he social, poli -
ical and economic wo ld. Na ional o ms o knowledge, p ac ices and emo ions a e
embedded in ins i u ional se ings and coo dina e, sus ain and na u alize pa icula
no ions and expe iences o he wo ld (Skey, 2011). In hese spaces, as Skey (2011)
explains, a ‘ ela i ely consis en sense o sel , place, and ime is ( e)p oduced h ough
ou ine habi s, aken- o -g an ed symbolic sys ems and amilia ma e ial en i onmen s’
(p. 35). Skey (2011), by ex ending Billig’s (1995) no ion o banal o ms o na ionalism,
e e s he e o ou ine habi s. Ope a ing a a habi ual le el, e e yday na ionalism, i
acqui ed, socializes, shapes he indi idual, in knowledge, embodimen and eelings. I am
especially in e es ed he e in he p ocess o acquisi ion, and i s pedagogic aspec s. A ped-
agogic aspec is always p esen in socializa ion, e en i he indi idual lea ns by he sel
in a sel -di ec ed way, ying o ac as o he s do in si ua ions (Wa kins, 2015). The o he s’
pe o mance ca ies a pedagogic aspec . Any ype o lea ning also equi es he engende -
men o he s uden s’ own will o lea n (Wa kins, 2015). This will o lea n can also be an
Millei 87
objec o pedagogy ‘by he inpu and di ec ion o an o he ’ (Wa kins, 2015: 25). This kind
o pedagogy and i s didac ic means I ind p oduc i e o he examina ion o how child en
lea n he na ion. Th ough a will o lea n and wi h epe i ion, knowledge, ac s o eelings
become embodied and habi ua ed, and hey equi e less conscious a en ion om he
indi idual (and pedagogic in e en ion), unless modi ica ion is equi ed.
Didac ic means in his pedagogy includes he eaching enac ed by human o non-
human o he s, and as I discussed abo e, also hose ha inci e he lea ne o eaching he
sel . Fo example, as child en lea n o na iga e na ional imes (see Lappalainen, 2006),
he explici ins uc ion o he eache can include he passing o knowledge, showing
echniques o help keep ime, o e ing easoning, demons a ing beha iou ha child en
imi a e. A o he imes, songs, symbolic objec s o chee s can se e as didac ic elemen s,
all o m a pa o human didac ic. Non-human didac ic can also be p esen , such as a
schedule in pic u es on he wall, o he a ailable places and spaces o do o no do ce ain
ac i i ies in, which help each child en o shape hei own beha iou s. Thus, he physical
en i onmen in ins i u ional se ings also ca ies non-human didac ic means. Thei
objec –human ela ions can hus also p omo e lea ning ha migh complemen ac s o
he human eache (Wa kins, 2011, 2015, 2017). Human and non-human didac ic means
unc ion as a con inuous di ec i e, o co ec i e, wi hin he social space. Habi ua ion
acqui ed in one space can spill o e o o he sphe es o li e allowing common dwelling
(Wa kins, 2015). Thus, lea ning and keeping na ional imes in p eschool can spill o e o
he home, o example, as child en become hung y and eques snacks a he same ime
as hey usually would ea in p eschool.
In lea ning, mime ic elemen s o habi ua ion a e also highligh ed by Wa kins (2015).
In mimesis, no simply epe i ion bu a ia ions a e also p oduced, allowing inno a ion
alongside ansmission, hus opening o he possibili ies. Va ia ion ma ks he loca ion
o he ans o ma i e po en ial o human and non-human didac ic. Objec –human ela-
ions also ca y pedagogical o ce h ough which he i e a i e p ocess can be aided
and/o al e ed. Fo example, objec s ca ying symbolic meanings can se e as emind-
e s o epea ed ac ions i placed a a s a egic place, such as in he si ua ion below,
camping chai s in he ou side p eschool a ea emind child en o enac a BBQ in oking
an Aus alian li es yle.
Emo ion and a ec can also wo k as didac ic means. Fo We he ell (2015: 147), a ec-
i e ac i i y is a o m o social p ac ice. We he ell (2015) explains ha ‘a ec i e p ac ice
is a momen o ec ui men , a icula ion o enlis men when many complica ed lows
ac oss bodies, subjec i i ies, ela ions, his o ies and con ex s en angle and in e wine
oge he o o m jus his a ec i e momen , episode o a mosphe e wi h i s pa icula pos-
sible classi ica ions’ (p. 160). A ec i e p ac ices can di e in scale as hey i alize a
subjec , o amilies and small g oups, o as hey a e being dis ibu ed in communal cele-
b a ions o in collec i e moods. Fo example, he eache can enlis he pa io ic eeling o
c ea e an a ec i e a mosphe e o inci e a child’s will o lea n in o ma ion o a une he
child so she exhibi s ce ain beha iou s (see also a ec i e a mosphe es as pa o e e y-
day na ionalism, e.g. Closs S ephens [2016] o Me iman and Jones [2017]). The low o
a ec is loca ed in he eache ’s body, such as ges u es, eye gaze, exclama ions o sel -
alk, bu also wi hin he low o o dina y li e. A ec i e a unemen in he low o o dina y
li e combines wi h social and cul u al p ocesses ha o ien a e us in ou in e ac ions.

88 Childhood 26(1)
Di e en spa iali ies connec and b ing wi h hem empo al egula i ies ha help indi-
iduals o o ien a e wi h mo al o de s o a gi en place and coo dina e ac i i ies ac oss
pa icula locales. Space also ‘loca es’ iden i ies, as Massey (2005) explains: ‘we canno
become wi hou o he s. And i is space [bodily and social] ha p o ides he necessa y
condi ion o ha possibili y’ (p. 56). Space also allows indi iduals o expe ience hem-
sel es as uni a y and s able en i ies, in his case, as na ional subjec s. Spaces and mic o-
spaces hemsel es can elay pedagogic o ces, hey can c a he body, hence hei
pedagogic e ec , by p omo ing di e en o ms o embodimen . Wa kins, as an example,
desc ibes he ‘bodily inco po a ion’ o he p ope use o s eps in schools (lining up, keep-
ing o a side, e c.), which becomes au oma ic wi h ime, a bodily know-how p omo ing
communal dwelling in la ge communi ies as well. Shi ing bodies, anima e and inani-
ma e, and social, psychological and clima ic dimensions (a mosphe es) compose an
‘in e io i y’ o space e e ing o he space’s quali y (Wa kins’ [2011] ‘in e io i y’ is di -
e en om ‘in e io ’, also in his no ion space is no bounded, i has ela ions wi h o he
spaces and is always in he making, which unde s anding is based on Massey’s no ion o
space [2005]). In he ‘pedagogy o na ion’, he in e io i y o space plays a c ucial ole in
habi ua ing and eaching child en’s bodies and ac ions. Fo example, he hy hm o li e
(slow, as , changing) o he allowed le el o noise in p eschools ca y didac ic means.
The concep o pedagogy o na ion is hus composed o he ollowing elemen s: (1) human
and non-human didac ic means (including mime ic elemen s), (2) emo ions and a ec s and
(3) in e io i y o space. In he nex sec ion, I o e h ee examples o illus a e and u he
de elop he concep o pedagogy o na ion, and also demons a e how i can be ope a ional-
ized as a me hod o esea ch e e yday na ionalism in child en’s ins i u ional con ex s.
Ope a ionalizing ‘pedagogy o na ion’
The p ojec ha hese examples a e d awn om aimed a esea ch na ionalism in young
child en’s li es by mo ing beyond child en’s ‘sense-making’, exp essed belie s, alues
and eeling. E hnog aphic obse a ions sough o o eg ound he e e yday li e o chil-
d en when hey we e doing hings as a pa o he low o li e. The s udy ook place o
18 mon hs in an Aus alian p eschool du ing 2013–2014. A ocus on ‘sense-making’ o i-
en s he obse e o human pa icipan s (Sø ensen, 2013). When si ua ions a e consid-
e ed h ough a socio-ma e ial pe spec i e, human and non-human bodies a e iewed as
‘in ima ely si ua ionally en angled’ (Sø ensen, 2013: 118). The esea che ’s ocus shi s
o coinciding e en s whe e he ma e ial and social coexis and in e play. As Sø ensen
(2013: 118) explains, ocusing on socio-ma e ial p ocesses ‘highligh s ‘doings’ in con-
as o ‘sense’’, shi ing he a en ion owa ds he si ua ion and i s p ocesses. Applying
his p inciple, i became possible o obse e how humans and non-humans, spaces, eel-
ings and a ec i e ela ions congeal si ua ions ha oge he c ea e socializing ela ions
and en i onmen s o child en.
Russia, a bad place o isi
Lucas and I a e si ing by he able ou side on he p eschool’s e anda. He d aws a globe
while I lis en (Figu e 1). He d aws Aus alia, New Zealand, he sea sepa a ing hem and a
Millei 89
ca : ‘I am d awing a ca in Newcas le. I d aw my pup’s ca in Newcas le’. He con inues he
d awing by mo ing o he op o he ci cle ep esen ing he globe. ‘I jus pu he ci ies he e
and he places whe e he ci ies a e’. He w i es le e s while also p onouncing hei sounds,
hen says ‘Mocow, Moscow’. As I could no unde s and wha he said I ask: ‘I don’ know
abou ha place whe e is ha ?’ ‘Tha is in Russia’–Lucas esponds. ‘Aha, ha is Moscow’
– I ealize. ‘They igh in Russia, he e a e people igh ing in Russia’ – says as he d aws wo
s ick igu es (maybe igh ing): ‘People igh in Russia and A ghanis an and o he places’.
Lucas u ns his ace owa ds me, e ec s his body so he looks alle and gi es me a meaning ul
smile. ‘Really’ – I exclaim wi h su p ise. His body is in ull concen a ion as he w i es on
his map: ‘BAD PLACE TO VISIT RUSSIA AND AFGHANISTAN! ‘Do you know wha he
w i ing says?’ – he asks. “Wha ?” His ace ligh s up as he u ns owa ds me: “Bad place o
isi ”. “Bad place o isi ” – I epea . “Bad place o isi Russia and A ghanis an” – he
epea s wi h a aised ension in his oice. “Bad place o isi Russia and A ghanis an because
hey a e igh ing he e” – I epea wi h exci emen . He con inues he w i ing wi h ull
concen a ion as I ask: “Do hey igh in Aus alia?” ‘Neee’ – wi h a disa ec ed one o
oice and no e en looking a me, jus shaking his head. As he inishes he d awing, he
wi hd aws his body om he desk and u ns o me wi h a smile on his ace and says in an
exci ed one o oice: “See he e is an exclama ion ma k!” and he poin s o i . He is aising
bo h a ms, hen he shakes hem while shou ing ou wi h a igh ened bu smiling ace: ‘Bad
place o Russia whe e hey gloody [bloody?] sca ed!!!’ Then he u ns away o look a wha
o he s a e doing behind him.
Figu e 1. Wa in Russia and A ghanis an.
90 Childhood 26(1)
Lucas seems o ep oduce ea lie expe iences while d awing he wo ld map, includ-
ing his pup’s ( a he ’s) ca in Newcas le, almos as i diame ically opposed wi h
Moscow on he globe. His d awing hus ca ies mime ic elemen s ha ep oduce ea lie
beha iou s. Lucas o en si s wi h he map a home and eaches himsel coun ies, hei
con ou s and loca ions. S udying his wo ld map and ca e ully d awing i , a wo ld
di ided by na ions is lea n . Calling i ‘pup’s ca ’, he exp esses his emo ions owa ds his
a he and he place whe e his a he li es and his ca is pa ked. Lucas mos ly li es wi h
his mo he close o he p eschool loca ed a a dis ance om Newcas le, because hei
pa en s a e sepa a ed. He o en isi s his pup who sha es wi h him a passion o maps
and coun ies o he wo ld. As hey si oge he , human didac ic elemen s (explana ion,
epe i ion) and non-human didac ic elemen s (wo ld map he uses o lea n na ions and
he maps he d aws o ep esen hose h ough his knowledge and eelings abou hem),
and emo ional elemen s ( ea mixed wi h exci emen abou wa ) a e p esen in hei
eaching and lea ning he na ion.
In he obse ed si ua ion, as he d aws Russia, loca es Moscow and w i es he sen-
ence, he con as s his cosy expe ience o Newcas le wi h ha o s i ing Russia and
A ghanis an whe e people igh . In Newcas le, his sel -iden i ica ion is p o ided by his
loca ion wi hin he amily con ex , and Moscow is a place ep esen ed by public dis-
cou se. These places o Lucas ha e accumula ed ‘speci ic se s o cul u al ma ke s ha
gi e hem hei dis inc i e “symbolic shape”’: home and amily, dis an and wa
(Scou ield e al., 2006b: 579). His oice ills wi h exci emen and ea , which emo-
ions he a aches o be in hose dis an places. People igh he e, i is a place whe e
people a e e y sca ed. Fea seems o be embodied by him as he pe o ms i . While in
Aus alia, he eels secu e, i is a peace ul and sa e place, a place o no wo y o ea s,
hence his elaxed body posi ion. In his p esen a ion o Russia and A ghanis an, no
cul u al ‘o he ’ appea ed, a he he p ojec ed a sense o his own sel (being sca ed i he
was he e) on o hese dis an places (see mo e in Scou ield e al., 2006b). The sha ed
exci emen o a he and son inci es Lucas o lea n abou na ions, including his home,
and his lea ning also includes emo ional elemen s, lea ning how o eel abou one’s
na ion. As We he ell (2015) explains, ‘[w]ha comes in o iew, in o he wo ds, is he
human wo k in ol ed in being emo ional and being a ec ed, in pa sing and ca ego iz-
ing a ec i e s a es, and he exquisi e, highly complex in e sec ions be ween body
s a es, me hods o egis e ing and desc ibing hese, and he con ex (p. 146) … A
(a ec i e) p ac ice is an assemblage o now which d aws on pas assemblages and
in luences he shape o u u e ac i i y’ (p. 147).
In he in e io i y o space, a home and in he p eschool, we eel in common – a he
and son, and Lucas and esea che – as we a e being sca ed in Russia and sa e in Aus alia.
The nega i e a achmen o Russia and A ghanis an p oduces a posi i e a achmen o
Aus alia and i s people. The sha ed isce al esponse o being sca ed c ea es a collec i e
‘us’, and by adap ing Ahmed’s (2004) obse a ion, [ ]oge he we … [a e being sca ed]
and his … [ ea ] is wha makes us oge he (p. 26). In he in e io i y o space human and
non-human means, mimesis and emo ions assemble as a pedagogy o na ion. Lucas
lea ns, mimics and also eaches he na ion o me, he esea che . In he nex example, no
a pe son bu a g oup o child en a e lea ning he na ion.
Millei 91
Aussie Eas e
Mo ning g oup ime on he ma is a pe iod acili a ed by he eache while he child en a i e a
p eschool. In his mo ning g oup ime, child en discuss how hey will spend hei Eas e . Some
child en a el o he bush whe e hey will camp, some s ay a home and go o a picnic and
some go o s ay in a ho el. As child en’s a en ion shi away, he ci cle ime is d awing o a
close wi h a song. The eache pu s on he song Aussie Eas e ha accompanies he book
au ho ed by Colin Buchanan and John McIn osh. A seemingly un amilia song o he child en,
sung in a coun y s yle, he song is abou he Eas e long weekend, ho in he bush, he chocola e
eggs mel in he back o he UTE (small uck). I is abou picnic, c icke and he cho us goes:
‘Aussie Eas e Oi! Oi! Oi! Aussie Oi! Eas e Oi! Aussie Eas e Oi! Oi! Oi!’ The eache sings
along and a he cho us she li s up he hand, e ec s he body and ele a ed by he spi i o he
song joins loudly he cho us. An exci ed wa e uns h ough he oom. The o he eache in he
ci cle emains in he posi ion. The one si ing behind he g oup a a small able con inues o
w i e he no es abou wha is aking place. Some child en li up hei hands as in a oo ball
game chee . Child en a e anima ed o di e en ex en s. Some join in wi h he eache singing,
o he s ha e a puzzled look on hei aces, some u n o me showing how hey chee wi h a
smile, while o he s pay no a en ion. Ye again o he s canno s ike he same pose. They y o
mimic he o ce o he mo emen , be e and be e o esemble he pose and exp ession o he
eache while hey chee : Oi! Oi! Oi! La e in he day he child en asked he eache o sing he
song again.
Aussie Eas e is abou a quin essen ial and s ale Aus alian s o y ull o s e eo ypical
opes, such as he UTE, picnic o c icke , ep esen ing an Anglo-Aus alian my h and
he ‘in o mali y, classlessness, and lo e o he na u al ha ypi ies “Aus alia”’ (B ad o d,
1995: 112). Anima ed possibly by he pa io ic emo ions a ising as she is singing and
ac ing he song, he eache loudly chee s wi h oice and mo emen . The demons a ion
o chee is he human didac ic mean ha sp ing child en in o imi a ion. Toge he wi h he
mo emen and chee , he eache is also eaching a way o exp essing eelings o he
na ion. Th ough epea ed i e a ion and mimesis, some child en a e ge ing be e and be -
e in pe o ming his pa io ic ac . O he s seem o ela e o he song and chee ing in
di e se ways: wi h igno ance, su p ise, lack o p ac ice, unin e es o being p eoccupied.
The song coming om he CD playe , as a non-human didac ic mean, and he emo ional
a mosphe e i c ea es oge he wi h he eache s’ chee s, inci e he child en o lea n.
La e , hey wan o sing and ac again.
The pe o mance o he Aussie Eas e song ca ies a signi ican pedagogic o ce wi h
i s Aus alian symbols, he UTE, c icke , he bush, chee ing he exp ession, he hy hm
and hymes o he song, he eache ’s exci emen and chee ing. The in e io i y o space,
c ea ed by he bodies o child en and eache s se led close oge he , helped ca y his
o ce, child en’s bodies we e caugh up oge he in his pe o mance, e en i some
emained una ec ed. While singing his song, he song and seemingly un amilia ac ions
could no con igu e a homogeneous g oup wi hin his space. Pe o ming he Aussie
Eas e song in sync would equi e mo e i e a ion i seems, epea ed ins uc ion o guide
‘ he o ches a be o e and du ing he pe o mance’ (Wa kins, 2017: 4). This o m o
o ches a ion oge he wi h he non-human didac ics o symbolic objec s, chee s and
emo ions migh b ing he pe o mance oge he bu mimesis would also depend on