The Making of English National IdentityWhy is English national identity so enigmatic and so elusive? Why, unlike the Scots, Welsh, Irish and most of continental Europe, do the English find it so difficult to say who they are? The Making of English National Identity is a fascinating exploration of Englishness and what it means to be English. Drawing on historical, sociological and literary theory, Krishan Kumar examines the rise of English nationalism and issues of race and ethnicity from earliest times to the present day. He argues that the long history of the English as an imperial people has, as with other imperial people like the Russians and the Austrians, developed a sense of missionary nationalism which in the interests of unity and empire has necessitated the repression of ordinary expressions of nationalism. Professor Kumar's lively and provocative approach challenges readers to reconsider their pre-conceptions about national identity and who the English really are. |
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Contents
English or British? The question of English national identity | 1 |
Nations and nationalism civic ethnic and imperial | 18 |
When was England? | 39 |
The first English empire? | 60 |
The English nation parent of nationalism? | 89 |
The making of British identity | 121 |
The moment of Englishness | 175 |
The English and the British today | 226 |
Notes | 274 |
| 300 | |
| 353 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Saxon argued aristocracy became Bernard Crick Britain British Empire British history British identity British Isles British nation Britons Catholic celebrated Celtic character Church civic Civil claims Colley colonial common concept conquest distinct dominant eighteenth century England English Civil War English history English identity English kings English national identity Englishman especially ethnic Europe European expression France French Revolution German Greenfeld groups hardback 0 521 Henry historians idea ideology imperial increasingly independent Ireland island John Kidd Kohn Labour language least Liah Greenfeld liberal literature medieval modern monarchy Nairn national consciousness nationalist nationhood native nineteenth century Norman Northern Ireland paperback Parliament patriotism perhaps period Picts popular Protestantism R. R. Davies Reformation religion religious role Roman rule says scholars Scotland Scots Scottish seems seen sense sixteenth century social society things Tom Nairn tradition Tudor Ulster union United Kingdom Wales Whig whole William
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Making of English National Identity Cambridge Cultural Social Studies |
| Author | Krishan Kumar |
| Editors | Jeffrey C. Alexander, Steven Seidman |
| Contributors | Jeffrey C. Alexander, Steven Seidman |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2003 |
| ISBN | 0521777364, 9780521777360 |
| Length | 367 pages |
| Subjects | › › › History / Europe / Great Britain / General Political Science / General Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social Social Science / Anthropology / General Social Science / Sociology / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |