Cultural identities and the aesthetics of Britishness [Paperback]

Considers how notions of Britishness were constructed and promoted through architecture, landscape, painting, sculpture and literature. Maps important moments in the self-conscious evolution of the idea of 'nation' against a broad cultural historical framework. An important addition to the field of postcolonial studies as it looks at how British identity creation affected those living in England - most study in this area has thus far focused on the effect of such identity creation upon the colonial subject. Broad appeal due to wide subject matter covered. Examines just how 'constructed' a national identity is - past and present.

List of figures

General editor's introduction

Notes on contributors

Introduction - Dana Arnold

1. Robert Bowyer's historic gallery and the feminization of the 'nation' - Cynthia E. Roman

2. Re-visioning landscape in Wales and New South Wales c.1760-1840 - Jocelyn Hackforth-Jones

3. The country house is just like a flag - Sophia Cross

4. Trans-planting national cultures: The Phoenix Park, Dublin (1832-49), an urban heterotopia - Dana Arnold

5. Two nations, twice: National identity in The Wild Irish Girl and Sybil - Andrew Ballantyne

6. Monumental nationalism: Layard's Assyrian discoveries and the formations of British national identity - Frederick N. Bohrer

7. Union and display in nineteenth-century Ireland - Fintan Cullen

8. Gentlemen connoisseurs and capitalists: Modern British imperial identity in the 1903 Delhi Durbar's exhibition of Indian art - Julie F. Codell

9. Albion's legacy: Myth, history and the matter of Britain - Sam Smiles

10. Architecture and 'national projection' between the wars - Mark Crinson

Dana Arnold is Professor of Architectural History, University of Southampton and Director of the Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism