Abstract
Immigration and racism are amongst the most controversial topics
in English society. This book provides an accessible account of post-war
immigration but it also critiques the language of racial, ethnic and
cultural difference that emerged to understand racism. Combining
history and social theory, Struggles for a past makes a genuine
contribution to debates on English identity, historical memory and
contemporary multiculturalism.
This book explores how Irish and Afro-Caribbean immigrants were
represented in post-war English culture. Beginning with the 1951 Festival
of Britain, it illuminates how dominant perceptions of the national
past helped to construct immigrants as outsiders. Those outsiders were
understood to pose ‘race’ problems that required management and
intervention. Race relations work had serious shortcomings but it also
offered immigrant groups a space and a language to construct their
heritage and to deploy historical narratives in pursuit of social justice.
In cultural and educational projects, immigrants and their children
struggled for their pasts and won recognition as ethnic groups.
Yet, as they did so, they became trapped by an ethnic historicism that
closed down the possibilities of social justice for all.
Written in an accessible manner, and combining history, sociology
and education, this book will appeal to students and general readers
interested in the history of race ideas, in historical memory and the
future of social justice.
in English society. This book provides an accessible account of post-war
immigration but it also critiques the language of racial, ethnic and
cultural difference that emerged to understand racism. Combining
history and social theory, Struggles for a past makes a genuine
contribution to debates on English identity, historical memory and
contemporary multiculturalism.
This book explores how Irish and Afro-Caribbean immigrants were
represented in post-war English culture. Beginning with the 1951 Festival
of Britain, it illuminates how dominant perceptions of the national
past helped to construct immigrants as outsiders. Those outsiders were
understood to pose ‘race’ problems that required management and
intervention. Race relations work had serious shortcomings but it also
offered immigrant groups a space and a language to construct their
heritage and to deploy historical narratives in pursuit of social justice.
In cultural and educational projects, immigrants and their children
struggled for their pasts and won recognition as ethnic groups.
Yet, as they did so, they became trapped by an ethnic historicism that
closed down the possibilities of social justice for all.
Written in an accessible manner, and combining history, sociology
and education, this book will appeal to students and general readers
interested in the history of race ideas, in historical memory and the
future of social justice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Manchester University Press |
| Number of pages | 275 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780719084805 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
