What Britishness Means to the British

Kellner, Peter

doi:10.1111/j.1467-923x.2007.02020.x

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Certainly the findings of this paper would support Modood's assertion (2007) that the ‘real political challenge’ in generating a sense of national unity and cohesion in the UK lies in changing attitudes amongst the White British. Narrow conceptions of Britishness (such as those articulated especially by Ms L and Ms J and informing phenomena such as White flight) tend to be voiced and enacted by members of the White British population (see Kellner, ). An ongoing political challenge then needs to focus on disrupting racialised views of national identity that associate an affiliation with Britishness with generating social cohesion and conversely, a lack of affiliation with Britishness with generating social polarisation.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sense of cultural reductionism and binarism in these remarks is particularly evident in Ms L and Ms J's conceptions of British identity/culture. Referring to symbols such as holidays, cricket and the Queen not only reflects a narrow conception of British culture but it is a view of culture that is racialised in its apparent privileging of national identity along the lines of geography/tradition (e.g., place of birth, monarchy, pride in British achievements) rather than values (e.g., democracy, fairness, free speech) (see Kellner, ). Such privileging, of course, cannot be divorced from these educators’ White British backgrounds—backgrounds that clearly shape how they conceptualise Britishness.…”

Section: Students’ Lack Of Affiliation With ‘British’ Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

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The politics of Britishness: multiculturalism, schooling and social cohesion

Keddie

2013

British Educational Res J

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This paper is set against a backdrop of contemporary concerns about Britishness. It explores the dominant view that unprecedented levels of cultural diversity within western contexts such as the UK are undermining social cohesion and are attributable to minority groups' failure to connect or assimilate with mainstream 'British' (read White Anglo) culture. The paper focuses on how these issues play out for several of the key teachers at 'Hamilton Court', a large English comprehensive multicultural school. Despite the school being a socially cohesive space, these teachers were concerned with students' lack of affiliation with 'British' culture. The paper examines these concerns through critical lenses that problematise reductionist and racialised understandings of Britishness and assumptions that associate an affiliation with Britishness with generating social cohesion. Against this backdrop, the paper provides further warrant for continued critical discussion about issues of Britishness, multiculturalism and schooling. teachers, consistent with Ms L's remarks, were concerned with students' lack of affiliation with 'British' culture. It is not contended here that such lack of affiliation is unproblematic-the paper supports the imperative of promoting a national identity around a shared vision of what it might mean to be British. However, it also supports and reiterates the ongoing significance of problematising narrow, fixed and racialised views of national identity and assumptions that associate an affiliation with Britishness with generating social cohesion and conversely, a lack of affiliation with Britishness with generating social conflict. Contemporary anxieties about national identity within public and education discourse are impacting on how teachers understand and approach issues of Britishness, especially in school contexts where there are high levels of ethnic minority diversity (Osler, 2011). Against this backdrop, the paper provides further warrant for continued critical discussion about these matters.

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Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Students’ Lack Of Affiliation With ‘British’ Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of Britishness: multiculturalism, schooling and social cohesion

Keddie

2013

British Educational Res J

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“…In an age of rising tension over international migration, a key question for policy-makers in immigrant-receiving countries is therefore whether the foreign-born retain the identity of their origin country, or come to adopt the identity of their hosts. Public concern over these matters is high (Kellner 2007;Kiss and Park 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National identity among economic and non-economic immigrants

Campbell

2018

Rev Econ Household

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Using recent survey data from the UK, I show that immigrants who originally migrated for family reasons or as refugees are more than twice as likely to report a host national identity as those who migrated for economic reasons. A large part of this gap is explained by differences between immigrant groups in national origin and other observed characteristics. However, even after accounting for such differences comprehensively, family immigrants and refugees remain around 13 and 8% more likely to report a host national identity respectively. These two groups still remain more likely to report a host national identity when restricting the analysis to immigrants without citizenship, to those with only weak incentives to acquire citizenship, or to those from origin countries without linguistic or cultural connections to the UK via the British Commonwealth. I suggest that average differences in time horizons between immigrant groups may be an important unobserved explanatory factor. Keywords Immigration • Assimilation • Identity JEL codes D71 • Z13

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“…Consequently, the article also makes a contribution to the literature on Britishness. On Robert Hazell’s (2007: 105; see also Kellner, 2007; Mycock, 2010) view, notions of Britain and Britishness ‘rest not just on shared values, but on shared interests and shared experience and a common set of institutions to give expression to those shared interests’. Other scholars, meanwhile, have studied the national myths and narratives that underpin such constructions of ‘the nation’ and British identity (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Rhetoric and audience reception: An analysis of Theresa May’s vision of Britain and Britishness after Brexit

Atkins

2021

Politics

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This article demonstrates the value of rhetorical audience studies for analysing constructions of ‘the nation’ and national identity. A key strength of this approach is its recognition of the interplay between the rhetorical situation, the text of the speech, and the audience’s responses to that rhetoric. Using the historical method for investigating rhetoric and its reception, the article examines Theresa May’s efforts to bring the nation together after the 2016 referendum and to offer an inspiring vision of post-Brexit Britain. A textual analysis shows that her rhetoric of Britishness was constructed around an imagined audience of Leave voters, and thus excluded Remainers from her conceptions of Britain and ‘the British people’. The audience reception study supports this finding, as it reveals two competing myths of ‘the nation’ which in turn constituted rival subject positions. In short, May’s epideictic failed to unite the country behind her conception of a strong, cohesive Global Britain.

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What Britishness Means to the British

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

The politics of Britishness: multiculturalism, schooling and social cohesion

The politics of Britishness: multiculturalism, schooling and social cohesion

National identity among economic and non-economic immigrants

Rhetoric and audience reception: An analysis of Theresa May’s vision of Britain and Britishness after Brexit

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