This book explores how British culture is negotiating heroes and heroisms in the twenty-first century. It posits a nexus between the heroic and the state of the nation and explores this idea through British television drama. Drawing on case studies including programmes such as The Last Kingdom, Spooks, Luther and Merlin, the book explores the aesthetic strategies of heroisation in television drama and contextualises the programmes within British public discourses at the time of their production, original broadcasting and first reception. British television drama is a cultural forum in which contemporary Britain’s problems, wishes and cultural values are revealed and debated. By revealing the tensions in contemporary notions of heroes and heroisms, television drama employs the heroic as a lens through which to scrutinise contemporary British society and its responses to crisis and change. Looking back on the development of heroic representations in British television drama over the last twenty years, this book’s analyses show how heroisation in television drama reacts to, and reveals shifts in, British structures of feeling in a time marked by insecurity. The book is ideal for readers interested in British cultural studies, studies of the heroic and popular culture.

The nexus between travel, writing and media in the contemporary world is dense: travel practice is increasingly interwoven with media; representations in old and new media are co-present and converge. Digitisation has had a profound impact on the practice and mediation of travel, but this volume aims to show that travel and its representation have always been enlaced with media. With contributions by experts in literary and cultural studies, journalism studies and informatics, the book takes a multi- and interdisciplinary approach and covers a wide range of media, from the hand-crafted album to social media. It illustrates how current transformations invite us to revisit earlier periods of travel writing and their media environments, and to explore the ways in which contemporary forms of mediation are prefigured by earlier practices and forms. The book addresses readers interested in travel writing, travel studies and cultural studies. Chapters Introduction, 3, 7 and 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Funded by University of Freiburg.

The nexus between travel, writing and media in the contemporary world is dense: travel practice is increasingly interwoven with media; representations in old and new media are co-present and converge. Digitisation has had a profound impact on the practice and mediation of travel, but this volume aims to show that travel and its representation have always been enlaced with media. With contributions by experts in literary and cultural studies, journalism studies and informatics, the book takes a multi- and interdisciplinary approach and covers a wide range of media, from the hand-crafted album to social media. It illustrates how current transformations invite us to revisit earlier periods of travel writing and their media environments, and to explore the ways in which contemporary forms of mediation are prefigured by earlier practices and forms. The book addresses readers interested in travel writing, travel studies and cultural studies. Chapters Introduction, 3, 7 and 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Funded by University of Freiburg.

This book explores how British culture is negotiating heroes and heroisms in the twenty-first century. It posits a nexus between the heroic and the state of the nation and explores this idea through British television drama. Drawing on case studies including programmes such as The Last Kingdom, Spooks, Luther and Merlin, the book explores the aesthetic strategies of heroisation in television drama and contextualises the programmes within British public discourses at the time of their production, original broadcasting and first reception. British television drama is a cultural forum in which contemporary Britain's problems, wishes and cultural values are revealed and debated. By revealing the tensions in contemporary notions of heroes and heroisms, television drama employs the heroic as a lens through which to scrutinise contemporary British society and its responses to crisis and change. Looking back on the development of heroic representations in British television drama over the last twenty years, this book's analyses show how heroisation in television drama reacts to, and reveals shifts in, British structures of feeling in a time marked by insecurity. The book is ideal for readers interested in British cultural studies, studies of the heroic and popular culture.

Heroes and heroic discourse have gained new visibility in the twenty-first century. This is noted in recent research on the heroic, but it has been largely ignored that heroism is increasingly a global phenomenon both in terms of production and consumption. This edited collection aims to bridge this research void and brings together case studies by scholars from different parts of the world and diverse fields. They explore how transnational and transcultural processes of translation and adaptation shape notions of the heroic in non-Western and Western cultures alike. The book provides fresh perspectives on heroism studies and offers a new angle for global and postcolonial studies.

Heroes and heroic discourse have gained new visibility in the twenty-first century. This is noted in recent research on the heroic, but it has been largely ignored that heroism is increasingly a global phenomenon both in terms of production and consumption. This edited collection aims to bridge this research void and brings together case studies by scholars from different parts of the world and diverse fields. They explore how transnational and transcultural processes of translation and adaptation shape notions of the heroic in non-Western and Western cultures alike. The book provides fresh perspectives on heroism studies and offers a new angle for global and postcolonial studies.

Poverty and precarity have gained a new societal and political presence in the twenty-first century's advanced economies. This is reflected in cultural production, which this book discusses for a wide range of media and genres from the novel to reality television. With a focus on Britain, its chapters divide their attention between current representations of poverty and important earlier narratives that have retained significant relevance today. The book's contributions discuss the representation of social suffering with attention to agencies of enunciation, ethical implications of 'voice' and 'listening', limits of narratability, the pitfalls of sensationalism, voyeurism and sentimentalism, potentials and restrictions inherent in specific representational techniques, modes and genres; cultural markets for poverty and precarity. Overall, the book suggests that analysis of poverty narratives requires an intersection of theoretical reflection and a close reading of texts.

This book is about the manifestations and explorations of the heroic in narrative literature since around 1800. It traces the most important stages of this representation but also includes strands that have been marginalised or silenced in a dominant masculine and higher-class framework - the studies include explorations of female versions of the heroic, and they consider working-class and ethnic perspectives. The chapters in this volume each focus on a prominent conjuncture of texts, histories and approaches to the heroic. Taken together, they present an overview of the 'literary heroic' in fiction since the late eighteenth century.

This book is about the manifestations and explorations of the heroic in narrative literature since around 1800. It traces the most important stages of this representation but also includes strands that have been marginalised or silenced in a dominant masculine and higher-class framework - the studies include explorations of female versions of the heroic, and they consider working-class and ethnic perspectives. The chapters in this volume each focus on a prominent conjuncture of texts, histories and approaches to the heroic. Taken together, they present an overview of the 'literary heroic' in fiction since the late eighteenth century.

Poverty and precarity have gained a new societal and political presence in the twenty-first century's advanced economies. This is reflected in cultural production, which this book discusses for a wide range of media and genres from the novel to reality television. With a focus on Britain, its chapters divide their attention between current representations of poverty and important earlier narratives that have retained significant relevance today. The book's contributions discuss the representation of social suffering with attention to agencies of enunciation, ethical implications of 'voice' and 'listening', limits of narratability, the pitfalls of sensationalism, voyeurism and sentimentalism, potentials and restrictions inherent in specific representational techniques, modes and genres; cultural markets for poverty and precarity. Overall, the book suggests that analysis of poverty narratives requires an intersection of theoretical reflection and a close reading of texts.

At the end of the twentieth century, tourism is the world's largest single industry. Tourism, however, is not only an economic and social phenomenon, but can be 'read' in semiotic terms centered around dreams of alternatives to everyday life. The images, which today dominate advertisements for tourist products, had to be constructed and sustained, invented and remolded over a long historical process. It seems that without this distinctive historical and cultural 'baggage' the remarkable social practice of taking holidays would not have evolved. Even if tourism saw its most spectacular development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in terms of the numbers involved, it rests on a cultural foundation inaugurated in the early modern period. The Making of Modern Tourism was a long-term process, deeply rooted in the cultural and intellectual, economic and social history of Britain.This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from fields as far apart as literary studies and economic history, who trace the history of tourism from the Renaissance to the present day, combing fresh findings from ongoing research with state-of-the-art surveys.

At the end of the twentieth century, tourism is the world's largest single industry. Tourism, however, is not only an economic and social phenomenon but can be 'read' in semiotic terms centred around dreams of alternatives to everyday life. The images, which today dominate advertisements for tourist products, had to be constructed and sustained, invented and remoulded over a long historical process. It seems that without this distinctive historical and cultural 'baggage' the remarkable social practice of taking holidays would not have evolved. Even if tourism saw its most spectacular development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in terms of the numbers involved, it rests on a cultural foundation inaugurated in the early modern period. The Making of Modern Tourism was a long-term process, deeply rooted in the cultural and intellectual, economic and social history of Britain.

Travel writing has gained new appeal, and writers from the British Isles have been particularly productive and successful in this genre. This volume provides a concise introduction to the basic characteristics and historical development of travel writing as it has emerged in the British Isles from the Middle Ages to the present day. Examples considered include many classics such as Defoe, Sterne and Smollett, Isabella Bird and Mary Kingsley, Chatwin and Raban, and also lesser known representatives. Types of travel writing discussed include pilgrims' itineraries, exploration writing, tourist accounts as well as postmodern varieties.

This book represents a contribution to both border studies and short story studies. In today's world, there is ample evidence of the return of borders worldwide: as material reality, as a concept, and as a way of thinking. This collection of critical essays focuses on the ways in which the contemporary British short story mirrors, questions and engages with border issues in national and individual life. At the same time, the concept of the border, as well as neighbouring notions of liminality and intersectionality, is used to illuminate the short story's unique aesthetic potential. The first section, "Geopolitics and Grievable Lives", includes chapters that address the various ways in which contemporary stories engage with our newly bordered world and borders within contemporary Britain. The second section examines how British short stories engage with "Ethnicity and Liminal Identities", while the third, "Animal Encounters and Metamorphic Bodies", focuses on stories concerned with epistemological borders and borderlands of existence and identity. Taken together, the chapters in this volume demonstrate the varied and complex ways in which British short stories in the twenty-first century engage with the concept of the border.

This book represents a contribution to both border studies and short story studies. In today's world, there is ample evidence of the return of borders worldwide: as material reality, as a concept, and as a way of thinking. This collection of critical essays focuses on the ways in which the contemporary British short story mirrors, questions and engages with border issues in national and individual life. At the same time, the concept of the border, as well as neighbouring notions of liminality and intersectionality, is used to illuminate the short story's unique aesthetic potential. The first section, "Geopolitics and Grievable Lives", includes chapters that address the various ways in which contemporary stories engage with our newly bordered world and borders within contemporary Britain. The second section examines how British short stories engage with "Ethnicity and Liminal Identities", while the third, "Animal Encounters and Metamorphic Bodies", focuses on stories concerned with epistemological borders and borderlands of existence and identity. Taken together, the chapters in this volume demonstrate the varied and complex ways in which British short stories in the twenty-first century engage with the concept of the border.

During the 19th century, photography was almost absolutely considered to represent a medium guaranteeing authenticity. By contrast, in literature and film of the 20th century, it was precisely this characteristic attributed to the photographic method that was problematized and varied. Based on specific case studies from literature and film, the collected contributions of this book focus on the evidence of photography and its presentation in different, specifically narrating forms. The authors are scholars of German, English and Romance literature and the cultural sciences as well as media scholars.

Kriminalliteratur bietet seit langerem ein Forum fur die Behandlung schon 'klassischer' postkolonialer Themen. So lassen sich die ProtagonistInnen vielfach als hybride Subjekte beschreiben, und die Suche nach 'historischer Wahrheit' bedarf einer anderen Substruktion als der einfachen Antithetik von Gut und Boese. Daruber hinaus sind die im Verschwinden begriffenen ehemals klar getrennten kolonialen Raume in postkolonialer Kriminalliteratur zwar solche des Kulturkonflikts; die 'liminalen' Raume, die Kontaktzonen, mutieren aber keineswegs ersatzweise zu idyllischen Orten: Vielmehr sind sie gegen Konflikte ebenso wenig gefeit. Kriminalliteratur ist daher ein ideales Labor fur postkoloniale Narrative, die Elemente postmoderner AEsthetik mit einem starken Interesse an sozialen Ungleichgewichten verbinden. Der Band versammelt zwoelf auf Deutsch und Englisch verfasste wissenschaftliche Beitrage zum postkolonialen Kriminalroman sowie ein Interview mit dem sudafrikanischen Krimiautor Deon Meyer.

One tends to associate history with serious modes of presentation rather than with humorous ones. Yet Clio also smiles and laughs out loud: Comic renderings of historical events and figures have made a significant contribution to popular history since around 1800. This volume offers case studies on history and humour in Britain and the US from 1800 to the present, discussing various historical topics, actors and events from the Middle Ages to the recent past.

The present boom in popular history is not unprecedented. The contributions to this volume investigate peaks of historical interest which favour popular approaches from around 1800 to the present. They analyse the media, genres, and institutions through which historical knowledge has been disseminated--from artifacts to the archive, from poetry to photography, from music to murals, and from periodicals to popular TV series. They ask how major traditions in the popular imagery of the past have evolved and changed over time. Cultural contexts covered in the book include Western and Southern Europe, the United States, and West Africa. Contributors come from a range of disciplines, including history, literary and cultural studies, musicology as well as social and cultural anthropology.

The tilt of a head, the quirk of an eyebrow, or a shift in position can eloquently portray a wide range of emotions without a single word being spoken. Body language is a critical component of everyday communication, yet the importance of body language, or non-verbal communication, in such a verbal medium as literature has not been fully studied.

In "Body Language in Literature," Barbara Korte has produced an important interdisciplinary study, by establishing a general theory that accounts for the varieties of body language encountered in literary narrative, based on a general history of the phenomenon in the English language. By focusing major works of literature, including stories by D.H. Laurence, Margaret Atwood, and J.D. Salinger, Korte shows body language to be a vital, yet unexplored method of communication in literature.

Britain's recent historical culture is marked by a shift. As a consequence of new political directives, black history began to be mainstreamed into the realm of national history from the late 1990s onwards. Black History--White History assesses a number of manifestations of this new cultural historiography on screen and on stage, in museums, and other accessible sites, emerging in the context of two commemorative events: the Windrush anniversary and the 1807 abolition bicentenary. It inquires about the terms on which the new historical programme could take hold, its sustainability, and its representational politics.

War correspondents are prominent actors in the media world. They took hold in the cultural imaginary soon after their profession had been created in the mid-nineteenth century. With particular focus on Britain, Korte investigates the representation of war correspondents from Victorian times to the present, in memoirs, novels and films. Such representations react to prevailing notions that exist about war reporters and help construct how we view them. With its cultural approach, this book complements studies of war correspondents in media and communication studies, history and ethnology.

Barbara Korte teaches English literature and culture at the University of Freiburg (Germany).