Writing Europe into British cultural history an introduction

Abstract

ABSTRACT This special issue aims to write Europe into the history of British culture—popular culture, to be exact—in the twentieth century. Too often British pop culture has been viewed either through the lens of national identity, in relation to American culture or with an eye to influences from other parts of the English-speaking world, usually from the former Empire. By contrast, contacts, exchanges and transfers between Britain and continental Europe have been comparatively neglected, reinforcing the idea that they do not exist. The issue shows the opposite by drawing on selected examples from cinema, fashion, food, travel and music in the period of the 1960s and 1970s. For this, the introduction prepares the ground by discussing the existing historiography, definitions and approaches.