Course Description
This courses explores cultural and historical expressions of Englishness from the early middle ages to the twenty-first century. Notions of Englishness are always embedded in specific contexts: there is no ahistorical core to English identity. Yet some themes have been remarkably pervasive through the centuries, even while being reiterated in new circumstances: we will return again and again to questions of language, gender, and relations with non-English communities in the British Isles and beyond. Core texts will range from classics such as Beowulf and Shakespeare, to the products of daily life and popular culture, such as diaries and films. The final session will explore contemporary debates, encapsulated in the London 2012 Olympics, and the 2016 referendum on membership in the European Union.