Culture Wars in British Literature: Multiculturalism and National Identity

by Tracy J. Prince

The past century's culture wars that Britain has been consumed by, but that few North Americans seem aware of, have resulted in revised notions of Britishness and British literature. Yet literary anthologies remain anchored to an archaic Anglo-English interpretation of British literature. Conflicts have been played out over specific national vs. British identity (some residents prefer to describe themselves as being from Scotland, England, Wales, or Northern Ireland instead of Britain), in debates over immigration, race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and in arguments over British literature. These debates are strikingly detailed in such chapters as: "The Difficulty Defining 'Black British'," "British Jewish Writers" and "Xenophobia and the Booker Prize." Connections are also drawn between civil rights movements in the U.S. and UK. This generalist cultural study is a lively read and a fascinating glimpse into Britain's changing identity as reflected in 20th and 21st century British literature.

Reviews
"[T]his book is near flawless…an incredible source of information. Using literature as a starting point, Prince delves into [Britain’s] history with many forms of discrimination. She does an exceptional job detailing each of these histories and explaining how they affect Britain today. Whether you are actively studying British literature or are just interested in how another country deals with (and continues to justify) racism, classism, sexism, and anti-Semitism, you will find lots of useful, surprising, and relevant information in 'Culture Wars in British Literature.'"
--San Francisco Book Review

"Tracy Prince's book brings an impressive set of voices into dialogue on the complexity of community-building and national identity--analyzing important aspects of British culture which are not fully represented in anthologies or literary histories."
--R. Victoria Arana, Professor of English, Howard University

"Writing with great lucidity and welcome originality, Tracy J. Prince explores how an increasingly multicultural Britain defines itself, and is defined, through literature and a literary establishment still dominated by an Anglo-English elite."
--Tamar Heller, Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature, University of Cincinnati

"It is precisely in its analysis of this 'Anglo centeredness' and its sensitive treatment of the many other voices that comprise modern British writing that this book's strength lies. We have no hesitation in recommending 'Culture Wars in British Literature' to anyone with an interest in the complexities of modern British culture and in particular the difficulty of establishing a separate and distinct Anglo-Welsh identity within the mainstream."
--Ceri Shaw, AmeriCymru's "Welsh Magazine"

About the Author
Tracy J. Prince is a Research Professor at Portland State University's American Indian Teacher Program in Oregon, USA. She has spent her career teaching and writing about race, gender, and social equity issues and has taught in or spent extensive research time in Turkey, Australia, England, Canada, and throughout the United States.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, European History, Sociology, Cultural, British Literature

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2011

About the author

Tracy J. Prince, Ph.D. is a Research Professor at Portland State University's American Indian Teacher Program, an historian, and a Fulbright (Malta). Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, she has spent her career teaching and writing about overlooked and forgotten parts of history that she finds by digging through archives and interviewing folks who like to talk about the olden days.

Dr. Tracy Prince has taught in or spent extensive research time in Turkey, Australia, England, Canada, France, and throughout the US (Oregon, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas) in Humanities, English, Curriculum & Instruction, and Urban Studies and Planning departments. https://www.pdx.edu/profile/tracy-j-p...

Reviews

[BookzBookzBookz · Rating 4 out of 5]

American and British Culture was almost mirror-like many, many years ago. Then America branched off into its own thing, but one thing never changed: the lack of cultural acknowledgement. To this day, there are children in America who've never seen an African American in person. Many ask, 'why are blacks in America called African American?' when their families, for generations, were born right here on US soil!? Or get this- black Britons receive no black British history... at all! It's non-existent! What's really happening?

Issues like this is what author Tracy J. Prince addressed, and so much more in her book, Culture Wars in British Literature. This book is filled with amazing information and debates on cultural identity, but not just for blacks and whites, but Chinese, Jewish and other immigrants. She went into explaining the differences between civil rights in America compared to UK, something I'd always believed to be identical. This book blew my mind, allowing me to transform my ignorance into understanding...
*For the full book review: http://tinyurl.com/zr3ohag
**Book provided by author, Tracy J. Prince, for an honest review.

[Jes · Rating 5 out of 5]

super lucid and taught very well. I learned a lot.

[Srujana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a First Reads review!

Firstly, it must be said that this book is excellent for lay readers. Tracy Prince deftly weaves a picture of Britain's past and current cultural identity for those of who live outside the region and have no academic training in cultural studies, British history, or literature. Her arguments and examples are easy to follow and thorough; she does a great of job of exploring an issue from several different points. I only wish that Prince had taken more time to define terms like "post-colonial theory" because readers like me may not always be familiar with what that means.

Secondly, I appreciated that explored the diversity of literature and cultural tension both within and outside Britain. She has specific chapters dedicated to Black literature ("Black" meaning all people of color in Britain), class issues, and Jewish writers. Prince also spend a considerable of time exploring the issues that female and queer writers face in multicultural Britain. This exploration of identity & literature gives the book a richness that is often hard to find in similar works.

Personally, I greatly enjoyed the book and would recommend it anybody who is curious to learn more about the subject. I've come away from reading it with a great list of authors who are embracing and writing about multicultural Britain.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a First Reads review.

This is a excellent overview of British literature of the 20th Century. With a historical timeline as a guide, this book explores British literature as a reflection of the changing cultural identity of the nation. Within Britain, writers began to identify themselves as Irish, Scottish and Welsh rather than as British. Before reading this, I took for granted the effects of racism on U.K. culture. An influx of authors with family roots in India, Africa and the West Indies were influenced by the challenges of assimilation into a culture with a defined class system. In the 50‘s/60‘s, British youth culture in Britain challenged this class division, yielding great novels and films that reflected the changing mores. Tracy Prince provides great backgrounds of many of the key authors. I’m inspired to read many of the books outlined in this book.

[Rhome · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book delivers on the promise of its provocative title. Although obviously written with the care of an academic, Culture Wars is suprisingly accessible and provides a nice history lesson about the evolution of cultural identity in an aging empire, post Pax-Britannica. Key chapters address class issues, and the problems concerning "black", Jewish, and other identities as expressed through the lens of British literature over the past 100 years. In this transitional age where a war of cultures exist, despite the ease with which ideas are shared across the Internet, this book provides a welcome reflection of where Britain (and by extension ourselves) have come from and perhaps its future.

[Consuelo Murgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deals with topics that I find extremely interesting. I have a B.A. and a M.A. in Foreign Languages and during my years of university the exams I loved most were those about colonial and post-colonial British literature, my first dissertation was about Black British Literature and the second about Sri Lanka, so it is easy to understand why a book like Culture Wars in British Literature: Multiculturalism and National Identity arouses my interest so much.

[Angelwingsmp · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book! I loved learning about Black British and British Jewish writers. It was also cool to read comments from Welsh and Scottish writers and writers from Northern Ireland about how it feels to be British these days. But my favorite chapter was the one on the Booker Prize.

[Tempest2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting reading differing opinions (from British writers) about what it means to be British and how much that has changed in a century. I learned a lot, especially about the Booker Prize and Black British writers. I also liked the comparisons between civil rights history in the US and UK.

[Zadie_Schaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable book. felt like I was in an awesome college class on British culture, history, and literature.

[Timothy Cramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for my college class teaching cultural and historical perspectives on British literature.

[Sarah Holz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid overview of contemporary cultural issues in British literature.

[Dana Del George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers can always count on Tracy Prince to share the spoils of her research in a generous and engaging way.