The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England
The purpose of this article is to re-examine popular culture in early-modern England by focusing on the oral/illiterate-written/literate and popular culture-high culture dyads. I aim to question why these interrelated socio-cultural categories have not been properly reconciled by the writers of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2015-12-01
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| Series: | American, British and Canadian Studies Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/abcsj-2015-0005 |
| _version_ | 1819108886777430016 |
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| author | Ivana Dragoș |
| author_facet | Ivana Dragoș |
| author_sort | Ivana Dragoș |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The purpose of this article is to re-examine popular culture in early-modern England by focusing on the oral/illiterate-written/literate and popular culture-high culture dyads. I aim to question why these interrelated socio-cultural categories have not been properly reconciled by the writers of the time. Moreover, my purpose is to focus on antiquarianism as a valid method whereby the delineation between the above-mentioned dichotomies turns into a subtle relationship in which both terms become complementary. I shall focus on two important antiquarian texts - Henry Bourne’s Antiquitates Vulgares (1725) and John Brand’s Observations on Popular Antiquities (1777) - by considering issues of religion and national identity, in an attempt to show that popular culture made known its counter-hegemonic virtues which, though permanently negotiated, were never rejected by the polite. Ultimately, the unstable relationship between the high and the low will be seen as suggestive of the porous boundaries between the two, indicating, at the same time, popular culture’s participatory role in rethinking cultural identity in Enlightenment England. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:17:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-561ecba6199c44cdb8cb4fbbf6f74546 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1841-964X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:17:04Z |
| publishDate | 2015-12-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American, British and Canadian Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-561ecba6199c44cdb8cb4fbbf6f745462022-12-21T18:40:48ZengSciendoAmerican, British and Canadian Studies Journal1841-964X2015-12-01251101910.1515/abcsj-2015-0005abcsj-2015-0005The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century EnglandIvana Dragoș0University of BucharestThe purpose of this article is to re-examine popular culture in early-modern England by focusing on the oral/illiterate-written/literate and popular culture-high culture dyads. I aim to question why these interrelated socio-cultural categories have not been properly reconciled by the writers of the time. Moreover, my purpose is to focus on antiquarianism as a valid method whereby the delineation between the above-mentioned dichotomies turns into a subtle relationship in which both terms become complementary. I shall focus on two important antiquarian texts - Henry Bourne’s Antiquitates Vulgares (1725) and John Brand’s Observations on Popular Antiquities (1777) - by considering issues of religion and national identity, in an attempt to show that popular culture made known its counter-hegemonic virtues which, though permanently negotiated, were never rejected by the polite. Ultimately, the unstable relationship between the high and the low will be seen as suggestive of the porous boundaries between the two, indicating, at the same time, popular culture’s participatory role in rethinking cultural identity in Enlightenment England.https://doi.org/10.1515/abcsj-2015-0005early modernitypopular culturehigh cultureantiquarianismoralitysuperstitionirrationalityliteracypolitenesscultural identity |
| spellingShingle | Ivana Dragoș The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England American, British and Canadian Studies Journal early modernity popular culture high culture antiquarianism orality superstition irrationality literacy politeness cultural identity |
| title | The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England |
| title_full | The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England |
| title_fullStr | The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England |
| title_short | The Counter-Hegemonic Virtues of Popular Culture in Eighteenth-Century England |
| title_sort | counter hegemonic virtues of popular culture in eighteenth century england |
| topic | early modernity popular culture high culture antiquarianism orality superstition irrationality literacy politeness cultural identity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/abcsj-2015-0005 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ivanadragos thecounterhegemonicvirtuesofpopularcultureineighteenthcenturyengland AT ivanadragos counterhegemonicvirtuesofpopularcultureineighteenthcenturyengland |