Dreaming of England: land of hope and glory or just another country?

Main Article Content

Thomas Hoy

Abstract

This is an essay about cultural history, cultural consumption and the shifting patterns of cultural identification and their role in changing sociopolitical visions and ideologies, in this case of England and Englishness. I use an autobiographical method to try and pinpoint my changing vision of what was then, and to a large extent still is, my mother country. I try to do this through an exploration of key moments of cultural consumption and cultural identification– my own family history, Enid Blyton, Richmal Crompton,
boys’ own magazines and English rock and punk music. My point is that even the most seemingly secure ideas about national and cultural identity are always in a process of re-negotiation and re-formation.


Keywords: England, Englishness, autobiography, cultural identification, cultural consumption

Article Details

How to Cite
Hoy, T. (2014). Dreaming of England: land of hope and glory or just another country?. Journal of Studies in the English Language, 7. Retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jsel/article/view/21922
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Articles
Author Biography

Thomas Hoy

Thomas Hoy has a doctorate in comparative literature from La Trobe
University in Australia and is a lecturer in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Thammasat University. He has published widely in the areas of literature, sociolinguistics, translation, and social and educational policy. His major recent research interests have been (1) the role of the English language in Thai politics and (2) discourses of national identity in literature.”