Annemarie McAllister | University of Central Lancashire (original) (raw)
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Papers by Annemarie McAllister
Oxford University Press eBooks, Oct 31, 2011
Routledge eBooks, Oct 10, 2022
Social & Cultural Geography, 2018
Drugs-education Prevention and Policy, Nov 11, 2014
From its foundation in 1847, the temperance organisation the Band of Hope addressed its young mem... more From its foundation in 1847, the temperance organisation the Band of Hope addressed its young members as consumers, victims, and agents. In the first two roles they encountered the effects of drink of necessity, but in the third role they were encouraged to seek it out, attempting to influence individuals and wider society against 'Giant Alcohol'. With an estimated membership of half the school-age population by the early twentieth century, well over three million, the Band of Hope also acted more directly to influence policy, and encouraged young people to consider issues of policy and politics. With its wide range of activities and material to educate, entertain and empower millions of children, and its radical view of the place of the child, the Band of Hope not only mobilised its child members to lobby for legal change, including prohibition, but took an active part in pointing out the cost of alcohol to society, particularly during the 14-18 war. The organisation began to decline post 1918, and this paper focuses on the address made to children by the Band of Hope in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, at a time when its innovative view of children as able to understand and influence policy decisions reflected developments in the construction of childhood. This article draws on the archive of the British National Temperance League, over 50,000 items located in the Livesey Collection,
Routledge eBooks, Oct 10, 2022
The social history of alcohol and drugs, Jun 1, 2014
This book examines representations of Italy and Italians in the mid-nineteenth century and the us... more This book examines representations of Italy and Italians in the mid-nineteenth century and the uses made of them by English writers and readers. Italians were shown on the one hand as despised public nuisances, personified by organ grinders, but were also depicted in the most glamorous and fashionable settings such as opera houses. The range of meanings accorded to the sign 'Italian' was vast and this is the source of the title metaphor: as John Bull played his Italian Snakes and Ladders, his self esteem and self-image waxed and waned correspondingly. In tracing this, the study examines how and why Italy operated as an important mechanism in the construction of 'Englishness', and the factors combining to make the mid-nineteenth century such a crucial period. The versions of 'Italianness' in circulation established an iconography of 'the Italian', emblematic representations which could be repeated or alluded to as a taxonomy, building up a complex map of discourses about Italy. Sometimes these might conflict, or they may be traced as combining to create a field of prejudice as, for example, the construction of Italians as primitive, closer to nature, and more instinctive. Such a view could shade either into ideas of dirtiness, disreputability and evil or, conversely, into Italy as a site of unspoilt, 'natural' bliss. The study focuses particularly on the middle-class male reader and traces reasons for, and advantages conferred by, the circulation of such myths. Masculinity, nationality and class positioning can be seen as fragile walls to the edifice of self-esteem, supporting each other from similar foundations. The sources for analysis are chosen with this readership in mind; there is a wide range of texts from high and popular culture, including contemporary periodicals, and a key feature is the central use of visual texts in the argument, with over fifty illustrations. Italy, and Italians, can be seen to have held an important place in Victorian self-fashioning. "Annemarie McAllister's book on the representation of Italian culture in the nineteenth century draws on both a range of cultural theory and a wide diversity of sources to suggest some of the ways in which stereotypes and popular perceptions were constructed and used within Victorian society. Particularly compelling and original is her analysis of music as a site for building popular beliefs and assumptions about Italy and its people, but her study includes such topics as Italian history, gender, and sensuality as the focus for debate. McAllister's use of illustrations, and her detailed knowledge of the illustrated press, offer original and telling ways into the constructions of national identities so central to the Victorian way of thinking and believing." Brian Maidment Professor of English, University of Salford. "I am delighted to have the chance to comment on this book. I read the doctoral thesis on which it is based with great interest and enjoyment, and learnt enormously from it. As a historian of nineteenth-century Britain with a particular interest in the construction of identities (and as an Italophile) I found it highly rewarding. The topic is of intrinsic interest and considerable significance. The author identifies a key period in the emergence of the English idea(s) of 'Italianness' and interrogates the topic through a variety of thoughtfully chosen case studies and via a rich array of appropriate primary sources. Most of the material was new to me and even topics that I felt some familiarity with, notably street music, were presented in a novel and rewarding way. I think the topic alone is worthy of a book-length study; matters Italian were at the heart of much political and cultural discussion in the mid-Victorian period and shaped both international political discourses and notions of British/English identity. However, what I think gives added value to this particular treatment is its approach. The work is inter-disciplinary in the best sense of the word. Dr McAllister is confident with the historical component (knowledge of context, strength and weakness of sources) but also with a number of approaches drawn from the field of cultural studies. Crucially, she manages to fuse the two so as to avoid the empirical overload that can blight the former and the linguistic opacity and wilfulness that can mark the later. The result is a subtle work that adds much to our knowledge but is also a model of how to write this type of study." Professor David Russell, Department of History, University of Central Lancashire "The book sets out to examine a range of representations of Italy, Italians and, more, of 'Italianness' in mid-nineteenth-century England, with a view to exploring how ideas of Englishness were defined against Italian archetypes. Taking the mid-century years of the Risorgimento as her focus, Dr McAllister demonstrates, in a well-orchestrated and well-illustrated argument, the significance of a taxonomy of 'Italianness' to…
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Cultural and Social History
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
The Routledge Handbook to Nineteenth-Century British Periodicals and Newspapers, 2016
In terms of circulation, innovation and contemporary importance, temperance periodicals certainly... more In terms of circulation, innovation and contemporary importance, temperance periodicals certainly claim attention, as indeed does the social, cultural and political influence of the movement they represented. Alcohol use and abuse remain very topical today: enormous amounts of money are being spent on what the UK government and media consider a serious social problem. 1 Two factors have, however, contributed to the neglect of temperance periodicals: few titles have been selected for note, study or digitisation, and they present material which can be considered propagandist, or unfashionably pious. However, with their increasing digital availability, and a growing appreciation of the contextual importance of popular nineteenth-century social and cultural movements, and of the history of consumption more generally, the time is right for a renewal of interest in temperance periodicals. The temperance movement may require some introduction. Concerns about the abuse of alcohol in the early nineteenth century had led to the formation of temperance societies in the United Kingdom, with members largely composed of the middle classes. Influenced by developments in the United States, such societies advocated abstinence from distilled liquorslike gin, and moderation in consumption of all alcoholic beverages. By 1830 there were estimated to be around 127 temperance societies in England with a total membership of around 23,000, most in the manufacturing districts of the north. Government action galvanised the infant temperance movementwith the passing of the Beer Act in 1830 which encouraged the opening of thousands more outlets selling beer. Government initiatives had initially encouraged the production of gin in the late seventeenth century in order to make use of surplus grain and avoid import duties on foreign spirits. After a century of public concern brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
Oxford University Press eBooks, Oct 31, 2011
Routledge eBooks, Oct 10, 2022
Social & Cultural Geography, 2018
Drugs-education Prevention and Policy, Nov 11, 2014
From its foundation in 1847, the temperance organisation the Band of Hope addressed its young mem... more From its foundation in 1847, the temperance organisation the Band of Hope addressed its young members as consumers, victims, and agents. In the first two roles they encountered the effects of drink of necessity, but in the third role they were encouraged to seek it out, attempting to influence individuals and wider society against 'Giant Alcohol'. With an estimated membership of half the school-age population by the early twentieth century, well over three million, the Band of Hope also acted more directly to influence policy, and encouraged young people to consider issues of policy and politics. With its wide range of activities and material to educate, entertain and empower millions of children, and its radical view of the place of the child, the Band of Hope not only mobilised its child members to lobby for legal change, including prohibition, but took an active part in pointing out the cost of alcohol to society, particularly during the 14-18 war. The organisation began to decline post 1918, and this paper focuses on the address made to children by the Band of Hope in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, at a time when its innovative view of children as able to understand and influence policy decisions reflected developments in the construction of childhood. This article draws on the archive of the British National Temperance League, over 50,000 items located in the Livesey Collection,
Routledge eBooks, Oct 10, 2022
The social history of alcohol and drugs, Jun 1, 2014
This book examines representations of Italy and Italians in the mid-nineteenth century and the us... more This book examines representations of Italy and Italians in the mid-nineteenth century and the uses made of them by English writers and readers. Italians were shown on the one hand as despised public nuisances, personified by organ grinders, but were also depicted in the most glamorous and fashionable settings such as opera houses. The range of meanings accorded to the sign 'Italian' was vast and this is the source of the title metaphor: as John Bull played his Italian Snakes and Ladders, his self esteem and self-image waxed and waned correspondingly. In tracing this, the study examines how and why Italy operated as an important mechanism in the construction of 'Englishness', and the factors combining to make the mid-nineteenth century such a crucial period. The versions of 'Italianness' in circulation established an iconography of 'the Italian', emblematic representations which could be repeated or alluded to as a taxonomy, building up a complex map of discourses about Italy. Sometimes these might conflict, or they may be traced as combining to create a field of prejudice as, for example, the construction of Italians as primitive, closer to nature, and more instinctive. Such a view could shade either into ideas of dirtiness, disreputability and evil or, conversely, into Italy as a site of unspoilt, 'natural' bliss. The study focuses particularly on the middle-class male reader and traces reasons for, and advantages conferred by, the circulation of such myths. Masculinity, nationality and class positioning can be seen as fragile walls to the edifice of self-esteem, supporting each other from similar foundations. The sources for analysis are chosen with this readership in mind; there is a wide range of texts from high and popular culture, including contemporary periodicals, and a key feature is the central use of visual texts in the argument, with over fifty illustrations. Italy, and Italians, can be seen to have held an important place in Victorian self-fashioning. "Annemarie McAllister's book on the representation of Italian culture in the nineteenth century draws on both a range of cultural theory and a wide diversity of sources to suggest some of the ways in which stereotypes and popular perceptions were constructed and used within Victorian society. Particularly compelling and original is her analysis of music as a site for building popular beliefs and assumptions about Italy and its people, but her study includes such topics as Italian history, gender, and sensuality as the focus for debate. McAllister's use of illustrations, and her detailed knowledge of the illustrated press, offer original and telling ways into the constructions of national identities so central to the Victorian way of thinking and believing." Brian Maidment Professor of English, University of Salford. "I am delighted to have the chance to comment on this book. I read the doctoral thesis on which it is based with great interest and enjoyment, and learnt enormously from it. As a historian of nineteenth-century Britain with a particular interest in the construction of identities (and as an Italophile) I found it highly rewarding. The topic is of intrinsic interest and considerable significance. The author identifies a key period in the emergence of the English idea(s) of 'Italianness' and interrogates the topic through a variety of thoughtfully chosen case studies and via a rich array of appropriate primary sources. Most of the material was new to me and even topics that I felt some familiarity with, notably street music, were presented in a novel and rewarding way. I think the topic alone is worthy of a book-length study; matters Italian were at the heart of much political and cultural discussion in the mid-Victorian period and shaped both international political discourses and notions of British/English identity. However, what I think gives added value to this particular treatment is its approach. The work is inter-disciplinary in the best sense of the word. Dr McAllister is confident with the historical component (knowledge of context, strength and weakness of sources) but also with a number of approaches drawn from the field of cultural studies. Crucially, she manages to fuse the two so as to avoid the empirical overload that can blight the former and the linguistic opacity and wilfulness that can mark the later. The result is a subtle work that adds much to our knowledge but is also a model of how to write this type of study." Professor David Russell, Department of History, University of Central Lancashire "The book sets out to examine a range of representations of Italy, Italians and, more, of 'Italianness' in mid-nineteenth-century England, with a view to exploring how ideas of Englishness were defined against Italian archetypes. Taking the mid-century years of the Risorgimento as her focus, Dr McAllister demonstrates, in a well-orchestrated and well-illustrated argument, the significance of a taxonomy of 'Italianness' to…
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Cultural and Social History
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals
The Routledge Handbook to Nineteenth-Century British Periodicals and Newspapers, 2016
In terms of circulation, innovation and contemporary importance, temperance periodicals certainly... more In terms of circulation, innovation and contemporary importance, temperance periodicals certainly claim attention, as indeed does the social, cultural and political influence of the movement they represented. Alcohol use and abuse remain very topical today: enormous amounts of money are being spent on what the UK government and media consider a serious social problem. 1 Two factors have, however, contributed to the neglect of temperance periodicals: few titles have been selected for note, study or digitisation, and they present material which can be considered propagandist, or unfashionably pious. However, with their increasing digital availability, and a growing appreciation of the contextual importance of popular nineteenth-century social and cultural movements, and of the history of consumption more generally, the time is right for a renewal of interest in temperance periodicals. The temperance movement may require some introduction. Concerns about the abuse of alcohol in the early nineteenth century had led to the formation of temperance societies in the United Kingdom, with members largely composed of the middle classes. Influenced by developments in the United States, such societies advocated abstinence from distilled liquorslike gin, and moderation in consumption of all alcoholic beverages. By 1830 there were estimated to be around 127 temperance societies in England with a total membership of around 23,000, most in the manufacturing districts of the north. Government action galvanised the infant temperance movementwith the passing of the Beer Act in 1830 which encouraged the opening of thousands more outlets selling beer. Government initiatives had initially encouraged the production of gin in the late seventeenth century in order to make use of surplus grain and avoid import duties on foreign spirits. After a century of public concern brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk