| Although liberalism claims that citizenship is a universal status that is extended equally to all members of the national community, in reality individuals experience their citizenship differently depending on their social identities. Recently, in an effort to address these inequalities, attention has shifted to the terrain of culture as a key site for the conditioning of political subjects and, as a result, relations of governance. This development has influenced citizenship theorists to consider expanding their conception of rights to include cultural rights. However, many of these attempts reflect an inadequate understanding of how culture is implicated in ruling relations. The first chapters of this thesis investigate the limitations of liberalism, particularly with regards to its proven inability to deal effectively with difference, as well as the theories of Gramsci, Althusser and Foucault in an attempt to plot an alternative theoretical framework; one that promotes a more expanded notion of the political and is therefore more conducive to recognising all the sites and means in/by which power operates. This theoretical review is undertaken in preparation for the research that lies at the centre of this thesis, which consists of a cultural analysis of a particular moment in public culture, the honour rituals that marked the interment of Canada's Unknown Soldier in May 2000, in which common sense knowledges of Canadian-ness are produced and promoted. By undertaking a discourse analysis of the texts that accompanied the ceremonies, I demonstrate the extent to which the representations that are generated therein are very particular expressions of race, gender and class power and thus, are instrumental in conditioning unequal relations of citizenship. I conclude the work by offering recommendation towards a re-definition of citizenship, particularly in the area of cultural rights, as well as some suggestions for the policy and practice of civic education. As a sustained discussion of the cultural origins of political relations, this thesis represents a valuable contribution to citizenship theory, particularly with regards to the issue of cultural rights. |
