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E-Thesis 275 views 183 downloads

Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century / KIMBERLY BERNARD

Swansea University Author: KIMBERLY BERNARD

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.60378

Abstract

This thesis examines Welsh national identity in the twentieth century through the medium of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The National Eisteddfod is arguably the largest cultural festival in Europe; it is certainly the largest cultural event in Wales. At the turn of the twentieth century it was...

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Published: Swansea 2004
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Pritchard, Gareth
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60378
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spelling 2022-07-04T14:52:18.8767578 v2 60378 2022-07-04 Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century 9df03308a00ae5402ad4e0c58d712e88 KIMBERLY BERNARD KIMBERLY BERNARD true false 2022-07-04 This thesis examines Welsh national identity in the twentieth century through the medium of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The National Eisteddfod is arguably the largest cultural festival in Europe; it is certainly the largest cultural event in Wales. At the turn of the twentieth century it was a popular festival but very different from its present form. During the course of the past century, the Eisteddfod has evolved into a highly symbolic Welsh-language festival, and one of the more powerful and evocative manifestations of Welsh language culture and nationhood. The ideological imperative given to the festival as a result of its perceived intrinsic connection to the language gives the Eisteddfod much its identity and its political power. However, language is not the only significant device through which the Eisteddfod has demonstrated Welshness; there are other, equally powerful, facets of Welsh identity that resonate from the festival. The chapters demonstrate these different elements, as well as the varied theoretical approaches I am taking in this process. The first chapter focuses heavily on historical cultural geography and looks at the role of location and place in Welsh identity in the twentieth century. The second chapter looks at various contemporary stereotypes of Welsh identity, using a post-colonial framework of Metropole and Periphery, and an emphasis on the role of binary juxtapositions in the construction of identity. Chapter three looks at various structural aspects of the festival itself, considering the formal performance of identity through the Eisteddfodic ritual. Chapter Four looks at the informal performances on the Eisteddfod field (Maes). Finally, the last chapter examines at the role of language and nationalism in the construction of modern Welsh identity. Together they paint a picture of the changing nature of Welsh culture and the correlated construction of identity during the twentieth century. E-Thesis Swansea 1 1 2004 2004-01-01 10.23889/SUthesis.60378 A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions. COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Pritchard, Gareth Doctoral Ph.D 2022-07-04T14:52:18.8767578 2022-07-04T13:25:09.9215276 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History KIMBERLY BERNARD 1 60378__24443__5783208d2aeb41b6a6a5e30c69bd418d.pdf 636082.pdf 2022-07-04T13:28:36.6208152 Output 14660977 application/pdf Redacted version - open access true true eng
title Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
spellingShingle Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
KIMBERLY BERNARD
title_short Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
title_full Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
title_fullStr Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
title_full_unstemmed Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
title_sort Visible Welshness : performing Welshness at the National Eisteddfod in the twentieth century
author_id_str_mv 9df03308a00ae5402ad4e0c58d712e88
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9df03308a00ae5402ad4e0c58d712e88_***_KIMBERLY BERNARD
author KIMBERLY BERNARD
author2 KIMBERLY BERNARD
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2004
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.60378
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
document_store_str 1
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description This thesis examines Welsh national identity in the twentieth century through the medium of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The National Eisteddfod is arguably the largest cultural festival in Europe; it is certainly the largest cultural event in Wales. At the turn of the twentieth century it was a popular festival but very different from its present form. During the course of the past century, the Eisteddfod has evolved into a highly symbolic Welsh-language festival, and one of the more powerful and evocative manifestations of Welsh language culture and nationhood. The ideological imperative given to the festival as a result of its perceived intrinsic connection to the language gives the Eisteddfod much its identity and its political power. However, language is not the only significant device through which the Eisteddfod has demonstrated Welshness; there are other, equally powerful, facets of Welsh identity that resonate from the festival. The chapters demonstrate these different elements, as well as the varied theoretical approaches I am taking in this process. The first chapter focuses heavily on historical cultural geography and looks at the role of location and place in Welsh identity in the twentieth century. The second chapter looks at various contemporary stereotypes of Welsh identity, using a post-colonial framework of Metropole and Periphery, and an emphasis on the role of binary juxtapositions in the construction of identity. Chapter three looks at various structural aspects of the festival itself, considering the formal performance of identity through the Eisteddfodic ritual. Chapter Four looks at the informal performances on the Eisteddfod field (Maes). Finally, the last chapter examines at the role of language and nationalism in the construction of modern Welsh identity. Together they paint a picture of the changing nature of Welsh culture and the correlated construction of identity during the twentieth century.
published_date 2004-01-01T04:18:26Z
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score 11.012924

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