The Making of English National Identity

A fascinating 2003 exploration of Englishness and what it means to be English rather than British.

Krishan Kumar (Author)

9780521777360, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 March 2003

384 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.56 kg

'This is an impeccably scholarly yet remarkably accessible book, which sets out to explain the emergence and peculiarities of that most elusive phenomenon, English nationalism.' Political Studies Review

Why 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, first published in 2003, 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.

Preface
1. English or British? The question of English national identity
2. Nations and nationalism: civic, ethnic and imperial nations
3. When was England?
4. The first English empire
5. The English nation: parent or nationalism?
6. The making of British identity
7. The moment of Englishness
8. The English and the British today.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], Cultural studies [JFC], British & Irish history [HBJD1]