Englishness and Empire 1939-1965

Nonfiction, History, British, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Englishness and Empire 1939-1965 by Wendy Webster, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Wendy Webster ISBN: 9780191647574
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: October 11, 2007
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Wendy Webster
ISBN: 9780191647574
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: October 11, 2007
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Did loss of imperial power and the end of empire have any significant impact on British culture and identity after 1945? Within a burgeoning literature on national identity and what it means to be British this is a question that has received surprisingly little attention. Englishness and Empire makes an important and original contribution to recent debates about the domestic consequences of the end of empire. Wendy Webster explores popular narratives of nation in the mainstream media archive - newspapers, newsreels, radio, film, and television. The contours of the study generally follow stories told through prolific filmic and television imagery: the Second World War, the Coronation and Everest, colonial wars of the 1950s, and Winston Churchill's funeral. The book analyses three main narratives that conflicted and collided in the period - a Commonwealth that promised to maintain Britishness as a global identity; siege narratives of colonial wars and immigration that showed a 'little England' threatened by empire and its legacies; and a story of national greatness, celebrating the martial masculinity of British officers and leaders, through which imperial identity leaked into narratives of the Second World War developed after 1945. The book also explores the significance of America to post-imperial Britain. Englishness and Empire considers how far, and in what contexts and unexpected places, imperial identity and loss of imperial power resonated in popular narratives of nataion. As the first monograph to investigate the significance of empire and its legacies in shaping national identity after 1945, this is an important study for all scholars interested in questions of national identity and their intersections with gender, race, empire, immigration, and decolonization.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Did loss of imperial power and the end of empire have any significant impact on British culture and identity after 1945? Within a burgeoning literature on national identity and what it means to be British this is a question that has received surprisingly little attention. Englishness and Empire makes an important and original contribution to recent debates about the domestic consequences of the end of empire. Wendy Webster explores popular narratives of nation in the mainstream media archive - newspapers, newsreels, radio, film, and television. The contours of the study generally follow stories told through prolific filmic and television imagery: the Second World War, the Coronation and Everest, colonial wars of the 1950s, and Winston Churchill's funeral. The book analyses three main narratives that conflicted and collided in the period - a Commonwealth that promised to maintain Britishness as a global identity; siege narratives of colonial wars and immigration that showed a 'little England' threatened by empire and its legacies; and a story of national greatness, celebrating the martial masculinity of British officers and leaders, through which imperial identity leaked into narratives of the Second World War developed after 1945. The book also explores the significance of America to post-imperial Britain. Englishness and Empire considers how far, and in what contexts and unexpected places, imperial identity and loss of imperial power resonated in popular narratives of nataion. As the first monograph to investigate the significance of empire and its legacies in shaping national identity after 1945, this is an important study for all scholars interested in questions of national identity and their intersections with gender, race, empire, immigration, and decolonization.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Economic Theory of Bank Credit by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book An Ark on the Nile by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book The Clash of Legitimacies by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Financial Markets in Hong Kong by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Hypnosis and meditation by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Dada and Surrealism: A Very Short Introduction by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book River of Life, River of Death by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book The War Report by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book International Law in Financial Regulation and Monetary Affairs by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Crystal Clear by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book A Dictionary of Writers and their Works by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book High Participation Systems of Higher Education by Wendy Webster
Cover of the book Varieties of Logic by Wendy Webster
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy