TY - BOOK

T1 - Hidden Texts, Hidden Nation: (Re)Discoveries of Wales in Travel Writing in French and German (1780-2018)

AU - Jones, Kathryn

AU - Tully, Carol

AU - Williams, Heather

PY - 2020/6/24

Y1 - 2020/6/24

N2 - At a time when the United Kingdom finds itself renegotiating its relationship with the rest of Europe, it seems more important than ever to understand how different cultures interact and view each other. This is particularly pertinent for those parts of the United Kingdom which have traditionally been seen as a peripheral other to the dominant hegemonic English identity under which those now devolved nations have often been subsumed. The case of Wales is central in this debate. This book examines the representation of Wales and ‘Welshness’ in texts by French and German-speaking travellers from 1750 to the present day, focusing on key points in the period of Welsh modernisation from the Industrial Revolution to the post-devolution era. By focussing on Wales, a minoritised nation at the geographical periphery of Europe, the authors are able to problematize notions of hegemony and identity within the genre, relating to both the places encountered (the travellee culture) and the places of origin (the travellers’ cultures). In so doing, this book makes an original contribution to studies in travel writing and provides an important case study of a culture often minoritized in the field but one that provides a telling illustration of the dynamics of intercultural relating and representation. The range of material covered and chronological approach make the volume significant not only for scholars of Travel Writing but also for those working in the fields of German, Francophone, Celtic and Welsh Studies. A further field which will benefit is that of Tourism studies as this is the first exploration of the development of tourism in a peripheral nation dominated by a hegemonic neighbour. Many of the narratives chosen for analysis have never been studied, due either to the obscurity of their publication or the fact that Wales itself often finds itself subsumed into narratives on England; these are, put simply, hidden texts on a hidden nation.

AB - At a time when the United Kingdom finds itself renegotiating its relationship with the rest of Europe, it seems more important than ever to understand how different cultures interact and view each other. This is particularly pertinent for those parts of the United Kingdom which have traditionally been seen as a peripheral other to the dominant hegemonic English identity under which those now devolved nations have often been subsumed. The case of Wales is central in this debate. This book examines the representation of Wales and ‘Welshness’ in texts by French and German-speaking travellers from 1750 to the present day, focusing on key points in the period of Welsh modernisation from the Industrial Revolution to the post-devolution era. By focussing on Wales, a minoritised nation at the geographical periphery of Europe, the authors are able to problematize notions of hegemony and identity within the genre, relating to both the places encountered (the travellee culture) and the places of origin (the travellers’ cultures). In so doing, this book makes an original contribution to studies in travel writing and provides an important case study of a culture often minoritized in the field but one that provides a telling illustration of the dynamics of intercultural relating and representation. The range of material covered and chronological approach make the volume significant not only for scholars of Travel Writing but also for those working in the fields of German, Francophone, Celtic and Welsh Studies. A further field which will benefit is that of Tourism studies as this is the first exploration of the development of tourism in a peripheral nation dominated by a hegemonic neighbour. Many of the narratives chosen for analysis have never been studied, due either to the obscurity of their publication or the fact that Wales itself often finds itself subsumed into narratives on England; these are, put simply, hidden texts on a hidden nation.

M3 - Book

SN - 9781789621433

T3 - Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures

BT - Hidden Texts, Hidden Nation: (Re)Discoveries of Wales in Travel Writing in French and German (1780-2018)

PB - Liverpool University Press

ER -