Cultural Identities and the Aesthetics of Britishness

Download or read book Cultural Identities and the Aesthetics of Britishness written by Dana Arnold and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2004-07-02 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines British imperial, colonial and postcolonial national identities within their political and social contexts. By considering the export, adoption and creation of such cultural identities, these essays show how nationhood and nationalism are self-consciously defined tools designed to focus and inspire loyalty. The contributors present these ideas with particular reference to English cultural identity and its interaction with the "Empire". They examine the national, imperial and colonial aesthetic--how architecture, landscape, painting, sculpture and literature were used, appropriated and re-appropriated in the furtherance of social and political agendas, and how this impacted on the making of "Britishness" in all its complexities. It is demonstrated that not only did the dominant aesthetic culture reinforce the dominant political and social ideology, it also re-presented and re-constructed the notion of British national identity.