Using the story-telling technique in the qualitative research of national identity

• Author: Sandru, C.
• Position: Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 41-48

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Vol. 4 (53) •No. 2 - 2011

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law

USING THE STORY-TELLING

TECHNIQUE IN THE QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

Codrina ŞANDRU1

Abstract: This paper contains the main results of a qualitative research on

Romanians natio nal identity. The research proposes a new approach to the

national identity based on two methodological eleme nts: the patriotic songs

as a stimulus for reflection on national identity and the presentation of data

in the f orm of story-telling. The theoretical background integrates the social

identity theory and the theory of social representations. The main conclusion

of the research is that Romanians have nowadays a negative social iden tity in

relation with their own country and the political class is seen as the main

culprit for the country’s bad situation.

Key words: social ide ntity, social representation, story-telling, patriotic

song.

1 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

One of the social problems facing

Romania today might be called national

image deficit in relation to other European

countries. There is ample evidence to

support this thesis. Recent studies about

the image of Romania and Romanian

migrants in Italy and Spain, the main

destinations of temporary emigration in the

period 2001-2006 [20] revealed the image

deficit that Romanians have in relation

with the European partners. It seems that

in Italy the Romanians to ok the place of

the Al banians as ‘black people’ of the

collective imaginary, especially after

Romania’s entry in the European Union

and after the influx of Roma people with

Romanian citizenship in Italy [7].

Especially during the last three years,

starting from crimes committed only by

Romanians in Italy, an entire nati on was

tagged with the adjective killer [18].

According to a recent study on the

perception of Romanians in Spain, the

most frequent spontaneous association that

Spaniards have about Romanians is

‘delinquency’. The image of Romania as a

country is also not positive: 21% of

Spanish people associated t he Romania’s

image with poverty and misery, 9% with

delinquency and 5% with Roma presence

(data taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk).

In a focus group that I conducted in

December 2010, the participants - students

in a master's program in social

development - have raised the following

problem: ‘Even Europe no longer wants

us. Even if, for twenty years, it seemed that

we were on a good path, we are always the