Imperial Encore by Caroline Ritter

Imperial Encore by Caroline Ritter

In the 1930s, British colonial officials introduced drama performances, broadcasting services, and publication bureaus into Africa under the rubric of colonial development. They used theater, radio, and mass-produced books to spread British values and the English language across the continent. This project proved remarkably resilient: well after the end of Britain’s imperial rule, many of its cultural institutions remained in place. Through the 1960s and 1970s, African audiences continued to attend Shakespeare performances and listen to the BBC, while African governments adopted English-language textbooks produced by metropolitan publishing houses. 

Imperial Encore traces British drama, broadcasting, and publishing in Africa between the 1930s and the 1980s—the half century spanning the end of British colonial rule and the outset of African national rule. Caroline Ritter shows how three major cultural institutions—the British Council, the BBC, and Oxford University Press—integrated their work with British imperial aims, and continued this project well after the end of formal British rule. Tracing these institutions and the media they produced through the tumultuous period of decolonization and its aftermath, Ritter offers the first account of the global footprint of British cultural imperialism.

"Imperial Encore presents a deeply-researched and engaging narrative that actively enriches a subject that has for too long been pushed to the outside of imperial historiography"

* Twentieth Century British History *
"Imperial Encore is an important contribution to the growing scholarship on the afterlives of empire. . . . In lucid prose and with an eye to compelling detail, Ritter has revealed how Britain’s cultural ambitions and institutional power did not simply survive the upheavals of the decolonization era, but thrived in its wake." * Journal of British Studies *
"Ritter’s highly-readable study is particularly strong in drawing out specific moments, experiences and voices. . . .Imperial Encore highlights the integral, and ongoing, role of culture to the imperial project and illustrates why we must continue to interrogate those that control, utilise, and exploit these cultural forms today." * Cultural and Social History *
In Imperial Encore, Caroline Ritter significantly advances the study of Britain’s cultural project in the former colonies. . . . It is an ambitious book, based on archives from multiple institutions and various countries, and impressively drawing these sources together." * American Historical Review *

Caroline Ritter is Assistant Professor of History at Texas State University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780520375932
ISBN 10	0520375939
Title	Imperial Encore
Author	Caroline Ritter
Series	Berkeley Series In British Studies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	University of California Press
Year published	2021-01-26
Number of pages	276
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.