Overview

This book offers a significant and original contribution to critical race theory. Georgie Wemyss offers an anthropological account of the cultural hegemony of the West through investigations of the central and pivotal constituent of the dominant white discourse of Britishness - the Invisible Empire. She demonstrates how the repetitive burying of British Empire histories of violence in the retelling of Britain’s past works to disguise how power operates in the present, showing how other related elements have been substantially reproduced through time to accommodate the challenges of history. The book combines ethnographic and discourse analysis with the study of connected histories to reveal how the dominant discourse maintains its dominance through its flexibility and its strategic alliances with subordinate groups.

Full Product Details

Author:   Georgie Wemyss ,  Dr. Anne J. Kershen
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.521kg
ISBN:  

9780754673477

ISBN 10:   0754673472
Pages:   214
Publication Date:   28 November 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Part I: Introduction to Chapters 1 and 2; Terra nullius to the shrouding of Milligan: White histories on the Isle of Dogs; Competing colonial anniversaries in 'postcolonial' Blackwall: White memories, White belonging. Part II: Introduction to Chapters 3 and 4; Subjects of the invisible empire: 'outside extremists', 'White East Enders', 'passive Bengalis'; 'The East End' marketing strategy and the consolidation of the White East End. Part III: Introduction to Chapters 5 and 6; Tolerance, the invisible empire and the hierarchy of belonging; 'Lascars', colonial genealogies and exclusionary categories. Conclusion: exposing the invisible empire: towards commonality and metropolitan belonging; Bibliography; Index.

Reviews

'Invisible Empire is a much needed antidote to the poverty of the mainstream political imagination concerning issues of racism in this country. Through a sensitivity to the political and cultural landscapes of East London, Georgina Wemyss dissects the intolerant tolerance of white liberals as well as the inability of British society to break from its imperial past and offer genuine belonging to its black and brown citizens.' Les Back, Goldsmiths University of London, UK 'This book provides a wonderfully readable analysis of the politics of multiculturalism within the framework of a particular place. The author's sustained critique of the invisible empire shaping the East End as a contrived tale of merchants and the spread of civilisation manages to bring to light layer upon layer of remarkable historical information along the way, right up to the present. Her methodical and innovative approach also shows those of us committed to breaking the default setting of white liberalism how to engage simultaneously with the local, the trans-local and the national. Here she demonstrates how, at each scale, public understanding of the complex citizenship of postcolonial settlers is diminished by careless ignorance and racism derived from decades of misinformation and hubris about Britain's past.' Vron Ware, The Open University, UK 'Wemyss shows comprehensively that public understanding of the complex citizenship of postcolonial settlers is diminished by careless ignorance and racism derived from decades of misinformation about Britain's past' BSA Network 'Pay discrimination against foreign seafarers on UK-flagged ships is nothing new...it is timely and salutary in its reflect on the history of the lascars ...their plight is highlighted in the penultimate chapter of a new book by Georgie Wemyss of Goldmiths College, University of London. Her study, The Invisible Empire, focuses more broadly on the historical relationship between the British Empire and east London's Bengali community - but the chapter on the lascars serves as the pivotal case study.' Nautilus International: The Telegraph 'Georgie Wemyss challenges claims to European hegemony by delving into alternative local histories and ethnographies ...recommended not just to anthropologists and historians, but also any sociologist concerned with the major reconstruction of the historical understanding of modernity that is currently underway.' The Sociological Review 'Like all research of significance, this expertly written book stays in the mind. Wemyss analyses historic discourses on Britain's relationship with East India alongside contemporary discourses on the representation of British Bengalis, and not only reveals how the power of Empire has resulted in silences and stereotypes that live on today, but also explains why engaging with the diversity of British Bengali identities is essential in post-7/7 Britain' Times Higher Education '... this is an invaluable book. I had the sense when reading it of the potential unfolding of an inter-disciplinary course on the postcolonial history of the East End - a resource I will often return to and direct students towards. Skilfully, Wemyss draws together an eclectic set of discursive and ethnographic analyses of commemorative events and local political conflicts. She takes the reader on a journey through a series of East End case study controversies, all of which have the effect, in the end, of making the legacy of empire continuously invisible in what counts as East End history.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 'The book is successful in achieving what it sets out to do. The author has marked out clearly the objectives of the study and the manner in which the core questions will be examined across different settings. She is careful to tie all of the disparate strands together to show how Empire and its concomitant ideas have become grounded in people's everyday experiences and routines, before revealing how these processes affect current events and perceptions. ... Wemyss demonstrates the manner in which cultural identity and power are conjoined in present-day circumstances to mark out relationships between different ethnic groups. Moreover, The invisible Empire highlights how certain beliefs are collectively imagined and then reproduced in people's perceptions of themselves and others, all of which has an impact on local daily happenings in tangible ways. ... Importantly, the structure of the book enables the reader to see how the common threads of cultural identity pervade distinct issues, locations and timeframes. ... Wemyss has carried out meticulous research and offered a tight framework with which to probe the core questions at the heart of the study... Overall, The invisible Empire makes an original and telling contribution towards comprehending the centrality of race and ethnicity, and their role towards an understanding of national identity.' Social Semiotics 'The metaphor of the 'invisible empire' is evocative. The richness of the data, historical, ethnographic and discursive, with Wemyss's insightful analyses and clear presentation of her findings, make for a highly informative study that is also very readable. It will be of interest and value to scholars of racism, postcolonial societies, multiculturalism, whiteness studies, and public policy, among others.' Anthropology Forum

Author Information

Georgie Wemyss is at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

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