Sixth Warwick British Cultural Studies conference
'Looking into England: English identities in the context of UK devolution'

University of Warwick, Coventry, England, UK,  12-18 December 1999

The Sixth Warwick International Seminar and Conference on British Cultural 
Studies is a seminar and conference for an international audience and all 
those wanting to explore new perspectives on political devolution in the UK, 
organised by the British Council and the Centre for British and Comparative 
Cultural Studies, University of Warwick. Director: Professor Susan Bassnett.

The unique political entity of the United Kingdom is in the process of
radical yet peaceful change. The devolutionary agenda set by Tony Blair's 
New Labour government has placed Welsh, Irish and Scottish identities 
centre-stage in the national debate. By contrast, serious discussion of what 
might constitute English national identity has hardly begun. Some say it 
never should; others that it is a huge vacuum in the debate about the future 
of Britain. Taking such disagreements as a promising starting point, this 
conference breaks with tradition to look at the whole picture of UK 
devolution - one which will offer a changed role for England as much as it 
will for other parts of the UK.

The conference aims to enrich a national debate with the perspectives of an 
international group of scholars whose speciality is the study of Britain. 
International delegates will be invited to discuss a commentary on a number 
of aspects of English culture and society from the viewpoint of other 
nations and cultures. Representatives from Northern Ireland, Scotland and 
Wales will brief the conference on the latest devolutionary developments and 
join writers, film-makers, political and cultural commentators, 'Looking 
into England'.

Speakers include:

Charlotte Brunsdon, author of Screen Tastes : From Soap Opera to Satellite 
Dishes,
Michael Bracewell, journalist and author of England is mine: pop life in 
Albion from Wilde to Goldie,
Nicholas J Cull, Leicester University on The Great Escape of the 
Self-Preservation Society: Englishness in Popular War and Crime Film, 
Nicholas Deakin, University of Warwick on The Englishness of UK Policy,
Christopher Harvie, author of Scotland and Nationalism,
Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, author of Eve was framed: women
and British Justice,
Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate,
Julian Rathbone, author of The Last English King,
Gisela Stuart, MP for Edgbaston, England, UK,
Richard Weight, co-author of the forthcoming Dictionary of 20th Century 
British History,
Readings by Amryl Johnson and David Dabydeen


Papers are invited on the following topics:

Forging the Nation,
Comparative identities,
Britain 2005,
Inter/Intra-national perspectives on England,
Multilingualism in England,
Being English,
Englishness and Heroism,
Representations of Englishness

The Forum Friday 17 December will be a special public day where the wider 
public joins the conference to debate the key issues of English identity 
today.

Cost of whole event is 500 GB pds or 425 GB pds (depending on accommodation 
chosen), based on full board accommodation and including the Forum day 17 
December.

The forum is separate and costs 45 GB pds including buffet lunch and
refreshments.
Deadline for applications: Conference 30 November Forum 12 December 1999
For a registration form please contact Naomi Clift, Literature Department, 
The British Council, 11 Portland Place, London W1N 4EJ
fax  +44 171 389 3175
e-mail [log in to unmask]
Updates on the www at http://www.britishcouncil.org/studies
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