Michael Skey | Loughborough University (original) (raw)
Books by Michael Skey
Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation? Do n... more Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation?
Do national identities matter and, if so, to whom?
To what extent are processes of globalisation undermining or reinforcing attachments to the nation?
Drawing on insights from sociology, social psychology and anthropology, Michael Skey addresses these complex questions by examining the views and attitudes of a group that has been overlooked in much of the recent literature; the ethnic majority.
Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which members of the majority in England discuss their own attachments, their anxieties about the future, and, in particular, their relations with minority groups, Skey demonstrates the link between a more settled sense of national belonging and claims to key material and psycho-social resources.
By analysing what is at stake for the majority, the book offers a more complete understanding of recent controversies over immigration, multiculturalism and community cohesion in Western settings, as well as a framework for theorising the significance of nationhood in the contemporary era.
Published in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalis... more Published in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalism and arguably the most influential book on the topic in the last two decades. Focusing on contemporary and everyday expressions of nationhood, the study marked a profound shift away from previous attempts to map the transformation to an era of nations and the association of nationalism with political violence, civil conflict and extremist movements.
Billig’s arguments have been picked up by scholars working in an impressive range of disciplines as part of the recent turn to the ‘everyday’, and the term ‘banal’ has come to form a short hand for the study of the ways in which particular representations, forms of social organisation and cultural practice become normalised and taken-for-granted.
While, however, there have been numerous journal papers and monographs that have made reference to Billig’s work, there has yet to be an in-depth, critical and comprehensive evaluation of the study or how it has impacted on both studies of nationalism and the social sciences as a whole. In the latter case, it’s worth noting that the Banal Nationalism thesis has not been made redundant by the burgeoning literature on globalisation but instead has been extended by scholars looking to theorise new forms of sociability, most notably Urry and Beck’s influential work on ‘banal globalism’ and ‘banal cosmopolitanism’, respectively.
This edited collection, drawing together scholars from a range of disciplines, will assess the contribution of Billig’s work but, above all, draw on recent developments in theories of practice, material culture, media and communications and affect to highlight new developments in the field. These discussions will place it at the cutting edge of current research into social and cultural identities. Another key contribution will be the provision of a range of perspectives, including empirical research focusing on Russia, the USA, Japan, Greece, Azerbaijan, Serbia and New Zealand.
Papers by Michael Skey
In the previous chapter we used examples of ‘everyday talk’ to explore the ways in which people d... more In the previous chapter we used examples of ‘everyday talk’ to explore the ways in which people drew on, and constituted, a largely taken- for-granted national discourse. This was evidenced with reference to a range of micro-linguistic features as well as the ‘common-sense’ assumptions and forms of knowledge used to make sense of particular issues. This framework should not be seen as all encompassing, it was, after all, often ignored or rejected. Rather, we might want to view it as a powerful framing device that allows people to interpret, explain and, sometimes, justify events, actions or social relations. Or to borrow an earlier analogy, it can be seen as a map that, in guiding people through the social world, becomes valuable in both practical and ontological terms.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2011
In the summer of 2010, I overheard the following conversation between two men in a pub in Essex (... more In the summer of 2010, I overheard the following conversation between two men in a pub in Essex (about 25 miles east of London). ‘You know Tesco are sponsoring the England football team during the world cup?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘There was this woman from South Africa who complained about all the England stuff being displayed in the shops. What does she expect? This is England. If she doesn’t like it here, she can leave.’ ‘Yeah, I know.’
It is probably fair to say that most of us don’t spend much time pondering our nationality or dis... more It is probably fair to say that most of us don’t spend much time pondering our nationality or discussing the finer points of what it means to be a citizen. At the same time, many people, from a variety of walks of life — politicians, civil servants, newspaper editors, journalists, advertising agencies-often work under the assumption that nationality does matter. Otherwise, there would be little point in them selling their ‘products’ in terms of national priorities or, indeed, pitching them at national audiences. Yet, trying to evidence the salience or meaningfulness of nationhood is not easy. Soldiers in national armies tend to talk about loyalty to colleagues and services, rather than nations, when asked (Gibson & Abell, 2004). People watching international football tournaments often emphasise the importance of having fun with friends or letting off steam over and above support for ‘their’ national team (Skey, 2008). So, how exactly are we to approach this tricky topic?
This chapter is concerned primarily with theorising the ongoing (re) production and significance ... more This chapter is concerned primarily with theorising the ongoing (re) production and significance of nationhood.1 Recent academic work across the social sciences has contributed to our understanding of the ways in which the nation is experienced, embodied and imagined through daily activities; but we lack a coherent analytical framework for making sense of these processes. Similarly, while much of the academic and public debate around the subject tends to assume that nationality is important to people, it rarely gets to grips with the question of why this might be, particularly in era of rapid global change.
Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Feb 20, 2014
European Journal of Communication, Jun 1, 2012
Acknowledgements Introduction: What's Going On? Theorising National Discourse 'Football, ... more Acknowledgements Introduction: What's Going On? Theorising National Discourse 'Football, Tea and Racism': Talking With and About the Nation 'Aggressively Defensive': Managing Perceived Threats to the Nation 'We Knew Who we Were': Ecstatic Nationalism and Social Solidarity 'It Broadens our Horizons': Are We all Cosmopolitan Now? Conclusions Bibliography Endnotes
![Research paper thumbnail of Introduction [Symposium: Affective nationalism]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/110353037/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Feb 20, 2014
New Media & Society
Although some scholars have argued that social media provide opportunities for sportswomen to byp... more Although some scholars have argued that social media provide opportunities for sportswomen to bypass mainstream media reporting, there is little existing research on how female athletes use, and experience, digital platforms. This article uses insights from studies of ‘gendered visibility’ alongside work on ‘closeness and distance’ in journalism studies to put forward the concept of ‘appropriate distance’ when trying to understand how these athletes manage their time and engagements online. Drawing on interviews with UK-based elite sportswomen, the findings not only show how distance is carefully managed to protect themselves from negative comments and over-exposure online, but also the significance of building connections with young female followers. Indeed, the athletes prize their status as ‘role models’ and seek to provide ongoing support and a sense of community in what is often an antagonistic online space.
National Belonging and Everyday Life
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Nov 4, 2022
Sportswashing is a neologism that has begun to appear with increasing regularity in the English-l... more Sportswashing is a neologism that has begun to appear with increasing regularity in the English-language media over the past few years. However, there has been limited academic discussion of the term and certainly no sustained analysis of what it might or might not offer to sports scholars. This lacuna is particularly curious given the rapid rise in interest in related issues, such as the links between sport and soft power, sporting mega events and place branding and sports diplomacy. Therefore, this paper has three main objectives. First to trace the links between sport and other forms of ‘washing’ (whitewashing, greenwashing etc) and to identify similarities and differences in these approaches. Second, to situate sportswashing within the wider literature on sports and state relations so as to better assess what, if anything, makes it different from cognate terms, including propaganda, public diplomacy, soft power and place branding. Third, to reflect on the utility of the concept, in both analytical and practical terms, in the contemporary era.
The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread... more The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread across the planet, global institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) called for worldwide solidarity, arguing that “we’re all in this together and we can only stop it together”. Despite the very obvious global nature of the pandemic and some of the more humanitarian responses to it, it has often been discussed in terms of national territories, priorities and communities.
Communications, 2020
The concept of media events continues to generate widespread debate among scholars around the glo... more The concept of media events continues to generate widespread debate among scholars around the globe. Studies that have challenged the concept’s functionalist foundations have undoubtedly sharpened our thinking. Conversely, approaches that have sought to expand the concept tend to confuse rather than clarify. In this paper, we argue that events that are planned, anticipated, and involve external organizations in their design demand a specific set of analytical tools. Furthermore, we draw a further distinction between one-off events and those that are cyclical in nature, with the latter being theorized using insights from studies of the television format industry. This approach not only focuses much needed attention on the production side of media events but also on the struggles between different interest groups (rights-holders, event hosts, media producers). We illustrate our arguments by drawing upon ethnographic material from the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.
Is a collaboration between EDS and leading LSE academics from a range of disciplines researching ... more Is a collaboration between EDS and leading LSE academics from a range of disciplines researching the determinants of innovation, technology, creativity and productivity and the policies needed to foster them. The Discussion Paper series features the research of the four teams;
Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation? Do n... more Why do so many people take-for-granted the idea that they live in and belong to a nation?
Do national identities matter and, if so, to whom?
To what extent are processes of globalisation undermining or reinforcing attachments to the nation?
Drawing on insights from sociology, social psychology and anthropology, Michael Skey addresses these complex questions by examining the views and attitudes of a group that has been overlooked in much of the recent literature; the ethnic majority.
Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which members of the majority in England discuss their own attachments, their anxieties about the future, and, in particular, their relations with minority groups, Skey demonstrates the link between a more settled sense of national belonging and claims to key material and psycho-social resources.
By analysing what is at stake for the majority, the book offers a more complete understanding of recent controversies over immigration, multiculturalism and community cohesion in Western settings, as well as a framework for theorising the significance of nationhood in the contemporary era.
Published in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalis... more Published in 1995, Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism is the fourth most cited text on nationalism and arguably the most influential book on the topic in the last two decades. Focusing on contemporary and everyday expressions of nationhood, the study marked a profound shift away from previous attempts to map the transformation to an era of nations and the association of nationalism with political violence, civil conflict and extremist movements.
Billig’s arguments have been picked up by scholars working in an impressive range of disciplines as part of the recent turn to the ‘everyday’, and the term ‘banal’ has come to form a short hand for the study of the ways in which particular representations, forms of social organisation and cultural practice become normalised and taken-for-granted.
While, however, there have been numerous journal papers and monographs that have made reference to Billig’s work, there has yet to be an in-depth, critical and comprehensive evaluation of the study or how it has impacted on both studies of nationalism and the social sciences as a whole. In the latter case, it’s worth noting that the Banal Nationalism thesis has not been made redundant by the burgeoning literature on globalisation but instead has been extended by scholars looking to theorise new forms of sociability, most notably Urry and Beck’s influential work on ‘banal globalism’ and ‘banal cosmopolitanism’, respectively.
This edited collection, drawing together scholars from a range of disciplines, will assess the contribution of Billig’s work but, above all, draw on recent developments in theories of practice, material culture, media and communications and affect to highlight new developments in the field. These discussions will place it at the cutting edge of current research into social and cultural identities. Another key contribution will be the provision of a range of perspectives, including empirical research focusing on Russia, the USA, Japan, Greece, Azerbaijan, Serbia and New Zealand.
In the previous chapter we used examples of ‘everyday talk’ to explore the ways in which people d... more In the previous chapter we used examples of ‘everyday talk’ to explore the ways in which people drew on, and constituted, a largely taken- for-granted national discourse. This was evidenced with reference to a range of micro-linguistic features as well as the ‘common-sense’ assumptions and forms of knowledge used to make sense of particular issues. This framework should not be seen as all encompassing, it was, after all, often ignored or rejected. Rather, we might want to view it as a powerful framing device that allows people to interpret, explain and, sometimes, justify events, actions or social relations. Or to borrow an earlier analogy, it can be seen as a map that, in guiding people through the social world, becomes valuable in both practical and ontological terms.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2011
In the summer of 2010, I overheard the following conversation between two men in a pub in Essex (... more In the summer of 2010, I overheard the following conversation between two men in a pub in Essex (about 25 miles east of London). ‘You know Tesco are sponsoring the England football team during the world cup?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘There was this woman from South Africa who complained about all the England stuff being displayed in the shops. What does she expect? This is England. If she doesn’t like it here, she can leave.’ ‘Yeah, I know.’
It is probably fair to say that most of us don’t spend much time pondering our nationality or dis... more It is probably fair to say that most of us don’t spend much time pondering our nationality or discussing the finer points of what it means to be a citizen. At the same time, many people, from a variety of walks of life — politicians, civil servants, newspaper editors, journalists, advertising agencies-often work under the assumption that nationality does matter. Otherwise, there would be little point in them selling their ‘products’ in terms of national priorities or, indeed, pitching them at national audiences. Yet, trying to evidence the salience or meaningfulness of nationhood is not easy. Soldiers in national armies tend to talk about loyalty to colleagues and services, rather than nations, when asked (Gibson & Abell, 2004). People watching international football tournaments often emphasise the importance of having fun with friends or letting off steam over and above support for ‘their’ national team (Skey, 2008). So, how exactly are we to approach this tricky topic?
This chapter is concerned primarily with theorising the ongoing (re) production and significance ... more This chapter is concerned primarily with theorising the ongoing (re) production and significance of nationhood.1 Recent academic work across the social sciences has contributed to our understanding of the ways in which the nation is experienced, embodied and imagined through daily activities; but we lack a coherent analytical framework for making sense of these processes. Similarly, while much of the academic and public debate around the subject tends to assume that nationality is important to people, it rarely gets to grips with the question of why this might be, particularly in era of rapid global change.
Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Feb 20, 2014
European Journal of Communication, Jun 1, 2012
Acknowledgements Introduction: What's Going On? Theorising National Discourse 'Football, ... more Acknowledgements Introduction: What's Going On? Theorising National Discourse 'Football, Tea and Racism': Talking With and About the Nation 'Aggressively Defensive': Managing Perceived Threats to the Nation 'We Knew Who we Were': Ecstatic Nationalism and Social Solidarity 'It Broadens our Horizons': Are We all Cosmopolitan Now? Conclusions Bibliography Endnotes
Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Feb 20, 2014
New Media & Society
Although some scholars have argued that social media provide opportunities for sportswomen to byp... more Although some scholars have argued that social media provide opportunities for sportswomen to bypass mainstream media reporting, there is little existing research on how female athletes use, and experience, digital platforms. This article uses insights from studies of ‘gendered visibility’ alongside work on ‘closeness and distance’ in journalism studies to put forward the concept of ‘appropriate distance’ when trying to understand how these athletes manage their time and engagements online. Drawing on interviews with UK-based elite sportswomen, the findings not only show how distance is carefully managed to protect themselves from negative comments and over-exposure online, but also the significance of building connections with young female followers. Indeed, the athletes prize their status as ‘role models’ and seek to provide ongoing support and a sense of community in what is often an antagonistic online space.
National Belonging and Everyday Life
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Nov 4, 2022
Sportswashing is a neologism that has begun to appear with increasing regularity in the English-l... more Sportswashing is a neologism that has begun to appear with increasing regularity in the English-language media over the past few years. However, there has been limited academic discussion of the term and certainly no sustained analysis of what it might or might not offer to sports scholars. This lacuna is particularly curious given the rapid rise in interest in related issues, such as the links between sport and soft power, sporting mega events and place branding and sports diplomacy. Therefore, this paper has three main objectives. First to trace the links between sport and other forms of ‘washing’ (whitewashing, greenwashing etc) and to identify similarities and differences in these approaches. Second, to situate sportswashing within the wider literature on sports and state relations so as to better assess what, if anything, makes it different from cognate terms, including propaganda, public diplomacy, soft power and place branding. Third, to reflect on the utility of the concept, in both analytical and practical terms, in the contemporary era.
The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread... more The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread across the planet, global institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) called for worldwide solidarity, arguing that “we’re all in this together and we can only stop it together”. Despite the very obvious global nature of the pandemic and some of the more humanitarian responses to it, it has often been discussed in terms of national territories, priorities and communities.
Communications, 2020
The concept of media events continues to generate widespread debate among scholars around the glo... more The concept of media events continues to generate widespread debate among scholars around the globe. Studies that have challenged the concept’s functionalist foundations have undoubtedly sharpened our thinking. Conversely, approaches that have sought to expand the concept tend to confuse rather than clarify. In this paper, we argue that events that are planned, anticipated, and involve external organizations in their design demand a specific set of analytical tools. Furthermore, we draw a further distinction between one-off events and those that are cyclical in nature, with the latter being theorized using insights from studies of the television format industry. This approach not only focuses much needed attention on the production side of media events but also on the struggles between different interest groups (rights-holders, event hosts, media producers). We illustrate our arguments by drawing upon ethnographic material from the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.
Is a collaboration between EDS and leading LSE academics from a range of disciplines researching ... more Is a collaboration between EDS and leading LSE academics from a range of disciplines researching the determinants of innovation, technology, creativity and productivity and the policies needed to foster them. The Discussion Paper series features the research of the four teams;
This chapter shows how professional athlete-motherhood is presented by the mainstream media and c... more This chapter shows how professional athlete-motherhood is presented by the mainstream media and challenged by self-representation on social media, using arguably one of the most successful professional athletes of all time, Serena Williams, as a case study. We suggest that Williams' use of social media has allowed motherhood to be a part of her entrepreneurial self, accessing sponsorship and endorsements while also normalising struggles and using her platform to raise awareness of what it means to be a ‘working mother’. In comparison, mainstream media presents athlete-motherhood as either the athlete-mother as a transgressor or as the ‘super mum’, a theme where the athlete manages the demands of motherhood with sport and does it all ‘perfectly’. While mainstream media may present these two tensions and speculate on what women's bodies should be able to do, Williams reminds us through her social media that her professional status does not disappear, she is not ‘coming back’ f...
The Conversation , 2020
The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread... more The coronavirus pandemic cuts across borders, cultures and political systems. As the virus spread across the planet, global institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) called for worldwide solidarity, arguing that “we’re all in this together and we can only stop it together”.
Despite the very obvious global nature of the pandemic and some of the more humanitarian responses to it, it has often been discussed in terms of national territories, priorities and communities.