English culture
Apr. 2nd, 2009 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynLast night I went home, and as is often the way of things managed to take a debate from LJ into my front room, discovered that pierot is like a particularly focussed rottweiler in debate, and also that we disagreed on both what 'culture' is, and also the extent to which England has a culture.
Now, to me, there is such a thing as English culture. And it's not just 'we're all multi-cultural, have people living here from around the world, and so our strength is our lack of culture' which is something I've heard said before and disagree with violently. I've lived in Nepal for a while. I've travelled to a lot of places. Every time I go away I come home more convinced than ever that there is such a thing as 'English culture', and 'British culture'.
I've got a list of things I think of as being culturally English. A lot of them are also seen in other cultures, but I think that's because we've always been so evangelical about our culture - what makes English culture hard to spot is that we've exported it very enthusiastically, and so it looks like 'the norm' a lot of the time, simply because it's so widespread.
I'm also really curious about what I've left out, so I appeal to you, oh clever readers of my LJ, to tell me what you think of as part of English culture. Scottish or Welsh or Irish culture is also totally acceptable to post in comments. Any Americans or Australians watching are welcome to comment with their views on either their own culture, or mine. I'd be quite curious about what a non-Brit might think of as very specifically 'English'.
If anyone wants to talk about 'what is culture' I'd be really interested in listening to that as well.
To me, English culture is a mixture of the old and the new. I think of traditional dishes like fish & chips, or toad-in-the-hole, or bubble & squeak as being part of English culture, but I also think of the Birmingham created curries, like the chicken tikka masala (which never existed in India!) as being very English.
Having been to folk festivals, it's pretty clear to me we've got a fairly strong tradition in terms of music and dance. And I understand morris dancing might not be a culture to be proud of, but it is culturally English. And, sadly, it counts as living culture as well. As a kid, I used to do maypole dancing at school, but I'm informed that has now died out. A google search suggests this isn't quite true, but it's certainly less common than it used to be.
There's a lot of children's literature which I think of as really really English - not just Harry Potter - the Worst Witch, Diana Wynne Jones - all of those are very English stories. I also think of the English as a nation of poisoners, purely based on Agatha Christie. Surely slipping arsenic in someone's tea has to be an expression of our English culture?
The Church of England, and the Anglican communion in general, strike me as very English. The Church of England is, after all, a peculiar beast - not quite Catholic, but not really a proper Protestant church either (as has been pointed out to me on occasion by various more Protestant types). It is a weird fusion of theology, mostly because it was created as nationalized Catholicism (Henry VIII actually disapproved strongly of Protestantism at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries). I also never realized how thoroughly the Book of Common Prayer and the King James bible had infiltrated my brain until I went to a wedding which didn't use it. I was utterly confused at the expected pattern of words just not happening. I'd also argue that a lot of our hymns are peculiarly English and because the CofE primary school is so much the norm in this country, they tend to be burnt into most English brains. I think, anyway.
A huge number of Christmas traditions are British traditions. Quite a lot were invented by Charles Dickens, as far as I can tell. Christmas cards and crackers are both originally English (and Victorian) traditions.
This website has a list of English customs and festivals, which are all quite peculiar, but are celebrated.
What else counts as 'English' and part of English culture?
Clothing or jewellery, or specifically English symbols would be appreciated, as a part of the debate last night was as to whether it is possible to appropriate British culture, but just establishing that English culture exists is what I'm trying to poke right now.
pierot is like a particularly focussed rottweiler in debate, and also that we disagreed on both what 'culture' is, and also the extent to which England has a culture.Now, to me, there is such a thing as English culture. And it's not just 'we're all multi-cultural, have people living here from around the world, and so our strength is our lack of culture' which is something I've heard said before and disagree with violently. I've lived in Nepal for a while. I've travelled to a lot of places. Every time I go away I come home more convinced than ever that there is such a thing as 'English culture', and 'British culture'.
I've got a list of things I think of as being culturally English. A lot of them are also seen in other cultures, but I think that's because we've always been so evangelical about our culture - what makes English culture hard to spot is that we've exported it very enthusiastically, and so it looks like 'the norm' a lot of the time, simply because it's so widespread.
I'm also really curious about what I've left out, so I appeal to you, oh clever readers of my LJ, to tell me what you think of as part of English culture. Scottish or Welsh or Irish culture is also totally acceptable to post in comments. Any Americans or Australians watching are welcome to comment with their views on either their own culture, or mine. I'd be quite curious about what a non-Brit might think of as very specifically 'English'.
If anyone wants to talk about 'what is culture' I'd be really interested in listening to that as well.
To me, English culture is a mixture of the old and the new. I think of traditional dishes like fish & chips, or toad-in-the-hole, or bubble & squeak as being part of English culture, but I also think of the Birmingham created curries, like the chicken tikka masala (which never existed in India!) as being very English.
Having been to folk festivals, it's pretty clear to me we've got a fairly strong tradition in terms of music and dance. And I understand morris dancing might not be a culture to be proud of, but it is culturally English. And, sadly, it counts as living culture as well. As a kid, I used to do maypole dancing at school, but I'm informed that has now died out. A google search suggests this isn't quite true, but it's certainly less common than it used to be.
There's a lot of children's literature which I think of as really really English - not just Harry Potter - the Worst Witch, Diana Wynne Jones - all of those are very English stories. I also think of the English as a nation of poisoners, purely based on Agatha Christie. Surely slipping arsenic in someone's tea has to be an expression of our English culture?
The Church of England, and the Anglican communion in general, strike me as very English. The Church of England is, after all, a peculiar beast - not quite Catholic, but not really a proper Protestant church either (as has been pointed out to me on occasion by various more Protestant types). It is a weird fusion of theology, mostly because it was created as nationalized Catholicism (Henry VIII actually disapproved strongly of Protestantism at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries). I also never realized how thoroughly the Book of Common Prayer and the King James bible had infiltrated my brain until I went to a wedding which didn't use it. I was utterly confused at the expected pattern of words just not happening. I'd also argue that a lot of our hymns are peculiarly English and because the CofE primary school is so much the norm in this country, they tend to be burnt into most English brains. I think, anyway.
A huge number of Christmas traditions are British traditions. Quite a lot were invented by Charles Dickens, as far as I can tell. Christmas cards and crackers are both originally English (and Victorian) traditions.
This website has a list of English customs and festivals, which are all quite peculiar, but are celebrated.
What else counts as 'English' and part of English culture?
Clothing or jewellery, or specifically English symbols would be appreciated, as a part of the debate last night was as to whether it is possible to appropriate British culture, but just establishing that English culture exists is what I'm trying to poke right now.
