Englishness as class: a re-examination

Arthur Aughey

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper considers the significance of class to English national identity. It takes onesystematic exposition of the argument that Englishness has been traditionally and intimately bound up with class: George Schopflin’s essay Englishness: citizenship, ethnicity and class, published in 2000. Schopflin thought that Englishness was distinctive in European terms by its class rather than its ethnic character and that this provided people with a very secure and very stable identity, though he did observe a more ethnicised form ofidentity emerging at the beginning of the new millennium. This is a strong definition ofEnglishness as class and the paper reassesses its claims in terms of recent research onidentity. It argues for a more nuanced understanding of the role of class but suggeststhat the modus vivendi of English class relations still distinguishes its identity withinEurope and the United Kingdom.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)394-408
    JournalEthnicities
    Volume12
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 4 Aug 2012

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