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The Anthropology of Airlines: Flag Carriers, Nationalism, Place, and Identity

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Date Issued:
2015
Summary:
In this study, I aim to explain the status of airline flag carriers as national and cultural symbols of their respected countries. With national interests and identity as part of their development, flag-carriers serve as “aerial ambassadors” representing their home nations. Through the media of design, uniforms, crew service, and advertising techniques, flag-carriers create a sense of place of their unique nations for both local and international passengers—promoting the “imagined communities” as coined by Benedict Anderson. Behind these flag-carriers are instances of public support and pride. The role of being an aerial ambassador emerges as the airline and nation become one entity, an association that could be either positive or negative. With examinations of airline websites, aviation marketing literature, and visual analyses, my research will show how flag-carriers express national identity across borders through their projected physical and cultural identities.
Title: The Anthropology of Airlines: Flag Carriers, Nationalism, Place, and Identity.
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Name(s): Jackson, Evan
Fewkes, Jacqueline H.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: Spring 2015
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: pdf
Extent: 147 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In this study, I aim to explain the status of airline flag carriers as national and cultural symbols of their respected countries. With national interests and identity as part of their development, flag-carriers serve as “aerial ambassadors” representing their home nations. Through the media of design, uniforms, crew service, and advertising techniques, flag-carriers create a sense of place of their unique nations for both local and international passengers—promoting the “imagined communities” as coined by Benedict Anderson. Behind these flag-carriers are instances of public support and pride. The role of being an aerial ambassador emerges as the airline and nation become one entity, an association that could be either positive or negative. With examinations of airline websites, aviation marketing literature, and visual analyses, my research will show how flag-carriers express national identity across borders through their projected physical and cultural identities.
Identifier: FA00003646 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2016.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003646
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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