New
New
Year 10
AQA

Understanding ideas of identity and heritage in Mundair's 'Name Journeys'

I can understand how Mundair presents the concept of identity, heritage and migration in 'Name Journeys'.

New
New
Year 10
AQA

Understanding ideas of identity and heritage in Mundair's 'Name Journeys'

I can understand how Mundair presents the concept of identity, heritage and migration in 'Name Journeys'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mundair evokes the Hindu deities of Rama and Sita - possibly to emphasise the themes of isolation and mistrust.
  2. Mundair implies that heritage is inseparable from the concept of self and identity.
  3. Mundair suggests that language is a physical part of who we are that nourishes and sustains us.
  4. ‘Name Journeys’ implies that the speaker felt their language was forcibly removed when they arrived in the UK.
  5. Arguably, the ending of the poem implies that minority voices and their heritage are drowned out in the UK.

Keywords

  • Migration - movement of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc.

  • Deity - a god or goddess

  • Interlaced - to join different parts together to make a whole

  • Heritage - the history, traditions, practices, etc. of a particular country, society

  • Conceptual - based on ideas or principles

Common misconception

Evoking ideas of deities always means that something is positive and divine.

While evoking deities can confer notions of divinity, we also need to consider the story behind the deity and how that story can add meaning to the narrative.

You might like to spend more time considering Hinduism and India if this is something unfamiliar to the students.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the AQA World and Lives anthology for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
The journey of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc., to settle in another is called ...
Correct answer: migration
colonisation
revolution
Q2.
Describing something as a 'void' means?
Correct answer: it's empty
it's full
it's valuable
it's satisfying
Q3.
'Dislodged' means...
Correct answer: knock or force out of position.
fixed or fastened so as not to give way.
to restore to a good condition.
Q4.
The history, traditions, practices, etc. of a particular country, society is its...
Correct Answer: heritage
Q5.
The 'wilderness' evokes ideas of which of the following?
Correct answer: isolation
Correct answer: danger
safety
companionship
Q6.
To 'chasten' means...
Correct answer: to correct by punishment or suffering.
to accept someone for who they are.
to become angry at someone.
to praise someone for their achievements.

6 Questions

Q1.
To be interlaced means...
Correct answer: to join different parts together to make a whole.
to separate different parts to make fragments of a whole.
to take something apart in order to restore it.
Q2.
A deity means...
an ordinary person
Correct answer: a god or goddess
a morality tale
Q3.
An environment where a person encounters beliefs that reflect and reinforce their own is known as an...
Correct Answer: echo chamber, echo-chamber
Q4.
The story of Rama relates to the speaker of Mundair's 'Name Journeys' because...
Correct answer: it evokes a sense of isolation.
it evokes a sense of righteousness.
it evokes a sense of belonging.
Q5.
The story of Sita relates to the speaker of Mundair's 'Name Journeys' because...
Correct answer: it evokes a sense of judgement
it evokes a sense of punishment
it evokes a sense of heritage
Q6.
The final couplet of Mundair's 'Name Journeys' implies...
the speaker will be able to celebrate their heritage in the UK.
Correct answer: the speaker is expected to forget her heritage in the UK.
the speaker intends to leave the UK and return to India.