Identity and Stereotypes : Humour Manifestations

In the European Union, two approaches to identity are emerging − that of collectivity and of individualism. These can be treated as the positions of nationalism in search of similarities and differences, formulating expressive prerogatives of identity in the modern context and adopting attractive projections. Historically, stereotypes are conditioned by nationalist objectives − to demonstrate one’s ethnic distinction and uniqueness, to lay the groundwork for moral and spiritual superiority. The juxtaposition of one’s own vs. alien, Lithuanian vs. foreign, we vs. they, promulgated by the traditional community, is losing its oppositional integrity. Challenging negative stereotypes is a strong motive for integrity. The idea of identity as a national ideal requires new, unusual forms of expression.[...]Kultūros, filosofijos ir meno institutasKultūrų studijų katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta