These Englands A Conversation on National Identity

The term "conversation" is one of today's jargon terms. This book explores in depth what conversation means in national terms. Its premise is that to be English is to participate in a conversation about the country's history, politics, culture, and society. The conversation changes, of course, but there is also continuity which illustrates a distinct tradition. It is a conversation, the book argues, which requires the plural notion of these Englands rather than the singularity of this England. Englishness, then, is the tone, register, and idiom of its subject matters, its anxieties and certainties, differences and commonalities. The book explores the English conversation through historical, political, literary, and popular voices, and tries to identify the character of contemporary Englishness.

Arthur Aughey is Professor of Politics at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Christine Berberich is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Portsmouth.

Krishan Kumar: Preface* Section one: Englishness in discourse and opinion * Sense & sensibility: the conversational etiquette of english national self-identification --Susan Condor * Is the English lion ready to roar? --John Curtice*  All white? Englishness, ‘race’ and ethnic identities --Paul Thomas * Towards a cosmopolitan england? Chris Bryant* Section two: Englishness in politics and institutions *  Conservatives and Englishness: A conversation between party and nation--Stephen Ing * The left and Englishness--Matthew Beeh * Gordon Brown and the negation of England --Simon Lee* The Englishness of WestminstePhilip North * Englishness and local government: Reflecting a nation’s past or merely an administrative convenience? --Colin Copus * Section three: Englishness in history and imagination * Faith, people & place: the English union in the writings of arthur mee and G.K. Chesterton-- Julia Stapleton * The changing face of englishness: history, culture and character--Gary ay From Hardy to Larkin: Poets and novelists in national conversation-- Patrick Parrinder* Afterword
--Christine Berberich & Artr Aughey * References