Histories and Memories: Migrants and their History in Britain

Description

The first study of how migrants view their own history and how migrant history is viewed by British society, this book addresses themes of vital importance to contemporary history, and covers every aspect of the migrant experience. Who are the migrants that have flocked to Britain since the nineteenth century? How do they understand their experiences? "Histories and Memories" is the first work of its kind to examine this question from the perspective of the migrants themselves, and the way in which historians and popular culture have recognised them. In so doing, it explores a wide range of ethnic groups and experiences from racism to Britishness, self-perception and the role of memory in migrant history. This original, incisive book breaks down disciplinary and intellectual boundaries to address themes of vital importance to contemporary history. List of tables – vii List of illustrations – vii Acknowledgements – ix Preface – xi Part I: Introduction: Immigration and British History -Immigration, History and Memory in Britain. Kathy Burrell and Panikos Panayi – 3 -Great Britons: Immigration, History and Memory. Tony Kushner – 18 -Historical Practice in the Age of Pluralism: Educating and Celebrating identities. Kevin Myers – 35 Part II: Histories and Narratives -Italian Immigrants in Britain: Perceptions and Self-Perceptions. Lucio Sponza – 57 -Narratives of Settlement: East Europeans in Post-War Britain. Inge Weber-Newth – 75 -The Migrant at Home in Spitalfields: Memory, Myth and Reality. Anne J. Kershen – 96 -Reinventing the Myth of Return: Older Italians in Nottingham. Deianira Ganga – 114 Part III: Memory, Metaphor and Material Culture - Migration, Memory and Metaphor: Life Stories of South Asians in Leicester. Joanna Herbert – 133 - A Journey Through the Material Geographies of Diaspora Cultures: Four Modes of Environmental Memory. Divya P. Tolia-Kelly – 149 - Hidden Objects in the World of Cultural Migrants: Significant Objects Used by European Migrants to Layer Thoughts and Memories. Caroline Attan – 171 Part IV: Irish Remembrances and Representations - Passing Time: Irish Women Remembering and Re-telling Stories of Migration to Britain. Louise Ryan – 191 - Family History and Memory in Irish Immigrant Families. John Herson – 210 - Marginal Voices: Football and Identity in a Contested Space. Joseph M. Bradley – 234 Notes and References – 253 Notes on Contributors – 299 Index - 303