George Orwell, The English People

Nigel Williams

Ed. by Peter Childs, Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Aug 1947

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Essays/ Lectures (any)

Resources

Although Orwell’s essay “The English People” (CEJL 3: 15-56) was written in May 1944, it was not published until August 1947.

It was Orwell’s compulsive chronicling of transient sociological patterns and the acuity with which he accomplished it that enabled critics such as Richard Lance Keeble and Christopher Hitchens to assert that Orwell was, in fact, the originator of cultural studies. As Keeble suggests, Orwell’s political and cultural writing inaugurated the fledgling science of Cultural Studies (Orwell Today), while Christopher Hitchens notes of Orwell, “It would not be too much to say that he pioneered ‘cultural studies’ without giving the subject a name” (Why Orwell Matters. 58)…

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2105 words

Citation: Williams, Nigel. "The English People". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 January 2014 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35013, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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