These Englands: A Conversation on National Identity

The term ‘conversation’ is now part of public discourse but little attempt has been made to examine its meaning. This book considers seriously what the notion of conversation entails when specifically applied to understanding nationality. The premise of this book is that to be English is to participate in a conversation about the country’s history, politics, culture and society. This book aims to be part of contemporary political and cultural education and it is the assumption that English nationality is a very live conversation. It is this live, contemporary conversation that the book wants to examine but it wants to understand it as more than a mere momentary product. Englishness has a history too - intellectual, literary, constitutional, political and emotional - and the contributors to this book explore its character. It brings together a group of distinguished academics in the fields of history, politics, sociology, social psychology and literature, including Julia Stapleton, John Curtice, Susan Condor, Christopher Bryant and Patrick Parrinder. With an introduction by Krishan Kumar, this book constitutes a unique perspective on the subject of English national identity. This book will be essential reading for students of nationalism and those with an interest in the debates about the culture and politics of Englishness.