영제국이 영국 본토에 끼친 문화적 영향 ―탈식민화(decolonization) 이전과 이후에 대한 연구 성향의 비교―

Abstract

This review article aims to analyze some recent historical research trends on the relationship between the British Empire and British culture. The ‘maximalists’ can be divided into two strands: Mackenzie-ites (or Manchester School) and Saidists. Despite their different theoretical tendencies (the former - social; the latter – cultural), both of them put the imperial experiences of Britons at the heart of Britishness. However, as they usually deal with the 19th century, it is not easy to find meaningful analyses of the impact of decolonization upon British culture in their research. Stuart Ward and his followers are called ‘minimalists’, because they argue that Britain’s imperial experience has made little or no impression on British society and culture, since the decolonization. According to them, ambivalence, denial, irony, nostalgia, and satire comprise the range of responses in public celebrations, sport, movies, and on the stage and television. Underlying these responses is a habit of mind that lacks the will and/or imagination to conceive of a reality that does not privilege the role of Britain and white Britons in world affairs and human history. A narrower concept of Englishness began to gain popularity among British intellectuals. In this sense, the term ‘minimalist’ does not refer to the absence of the imperial impact itself, but to the denial of its presence by the British public. Nevertheless, the legacy of the British Empire cannot easily be wiped out from various aspects of British society.