Britishness - Keele University
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Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

Britishness in the 21st Century

CALL FOR PAPERS for

One day Conference on:

 Britishness in the 21st Century

To be held at Keele University on Wednesday 19 June 2013

Deadline for abstract submissions: 1st April 2013

Deadline for paper submissions: 1st June 2013

britannia What do assertions of ‘Britishness’ mean today? Confronted with varying cultural associations ranging from Shakespeare, The Beatles, Winston Churchill and the rule of law, responsibility and fairness, for years left-leaning multiculturalists considered claims of national identity tainted by imperial history and colonial cruelties. For many, the legacy of such a dubious past appear reinforced by recent UK military interventions abroad and restrictive domestic immigration policies. However, following apparently strong public support for the Diamond Jubilee, and the success of the 2012 London Olympics, claims have been made for a new and more positive and energising discourse on British national identity. Whereas post 7/7 formulations of ‘British citizenship’ seem driven by public concerns about security and the outflanking of extremism, anti-immigration rhetoric along with declarations of the death of multiculturalism, are we also now witnessing the emergence of a more confident, open, inclusive and reflexive debate concerning nationality and patriotism?

Mo Building upon these recent developments, this one-day workshop hosted by the University of Keele in association with the Dialogue Society aims to critically explore notions of Britishness and to evaluate the key issues involved in formulating shared understandings of British national identity. As a central aspect of this workshop, we aim to consider the contradictions of British liberalism and imperialism and their legacies for national identity today. In particular, does the association of Britishness with liberal values of due process, human rights and toleration distract us from persistent global associations of the nation with imperial practices of European history, which perhaps manifest in new and even more troubling forms of imperialism? With the British economy facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, to what extent is ‘humanitarian intervention’ via military activism, a new name for the old concept of imperialism and its associated control of resources?  What are the politics of inclusion and exclusion around reconstructed notions of Britishness in response? Does the liberal-multicultural emphasis on group rights and differentiated citizenship assist or hinder a project of Britishness? Does the label  ‘Britishness’  promise support for liberal values of tolerance, fairness, equality and respect; or is this mere self-congratulation, obscuring extensive problems such as unequal resources and social misrecognition? Will teaching Britishness to young people support a stronger sense of inclusion in the processes of local democracy? And what value does Britishness hold in the context of internationalisation and globalisation?

face Such concerns prompt consideration of the constellation of material, political, civic and international challenges involved in understanding ‘Britishness’ afresh in the early twenty-first century. This one-day workshop, accordingly, aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to foster a critical dialogue about these challenging and timely questions.

We welcome original contributions in the form of papers or symposia on a range of themes.  Potential topics include: 

  • Britishness and neoliberal globalisation
  • British culture and the end of Empire
  • Cohesion, citizenship and belonging
  • The London Olympics and national identity
  • Multiculturalism and the ‘war on terror’
  • Gender and ‘British’ national identities
  • Nationalism, national anxiety and racial and cultural Otherness
  • Migrant and refugee communities and social inclusion
  • Britishness and internationalisation
  • National identities and post-devolution
  • Educating for Britishness
  • Representations of Britishness in the media/art/fiction
  • Sport and Britishness 
  • Contemporary British Islamaphobia
  • Whiteness and Britishness

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts of between 300-500 words  should be sent by 1st April 2013 to Monica Mookherjee (m.mookherjee@pol.keele.ac.uk ) and Farzana Shain (f.shain@keele.ac.uk) as members of the organising committee. We welcome contributions from doctoral or early career to established academics.

Abstracts will be reviewed by two or more reviewers and decisions communicated by 15 April 2013. Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers in advance of the conference and no later than 1st June 2013.  

Full Papers: 1st June 2013 submitted. 

The word limit for articles is 7,000 words (maximum) including bibliography. No abstracts or papers will be considered after these closing dates.

Keynote Speakers and final programme to be confirmed.