Civic image and civic patriotism in Liverpool 1880-1914
The late Victorian and Edwardian period saw ritual become increasingly important in political life. Towns and cities were involved in conscious efforts to construct and project attractive images of themselves. These images were intended to encourage a sense of civic patriotism. Ceremonies, honorific titles, public events and civic architecture were essays in the invention of tradition. However, historians have applied the concept of the invention of tradition unevenly. Previous research has dwelt on the construction of images. Perceptions of official images and responses to them have been overlooked. This thesis employs a model which recognises images as processes with foundaitons in human relationships. It evaluates images in terms of intentionality, power, context and participation. The participative dimension is of particular importance, because images aimed to instil a sense of civic patriotism which would encourage citizens to make emotional and financial investments in their communities. Liverpool attained the status of a city in 1880. The civic ideology of the city was dominated by images of commerce and by notions of Imperial duty and public service which celebrated commercial virtues. Many aspects
Vickers, Matthew
History ; History of Britain and Europe ; Modern Britain and Europe ; Liverpool ; civic image ; civic patriotism ; civic ceremonial ; pageant ; honorific titles ; hagiography ; blame ; municipal art policy ; expansion ; University of Liverpool ; football
Civic image and civic patriotism in Liverpool 1880-1914. The late Victorian and Edwardian period saw ritual become increasingly important in political life. Towns and cities were involved in conscious efforts to construct and project attractive images of themselves. These images were intended to encourage a sense of civic patriotism. Ceremonies, honorific titles, public events and civic architecture were essays in the invention of tradition. However, historians have applied the concept of the invention of tradition unevenly. Previous research has dwelt on the construction of images. Perceptions of official images and responses to them have been overlooked. This thesis employs a model which recognises images as processes with foundaitons in human relationships. It evaluates images in terms of intentionality, power, context and participation. The participative dimension is of particular importance, because images aimed to instil a sense of civic patriotism which would encourage citizens to make emotional and financial investments in their communities. Liverpool attained the status of a city in 1880. The civic ideology of the city was dominated by images of commerce and by notions of Imperial duty and public service which celebrated commercial virtues. Many aspects
civic image civic patriotism liverpool late victorian edwardian period_saw ritual become_increasingly important political_life towns city involve conscious effort construct project attractive image themselves image intend encourage sense civic patriotism honorific title public event civic architecture essay invention tradition however historian apply_concept invention tradition previous construction image perceptions official image response overlook employ model recognises image process human relationship evaluates image term intentionality power context participation dimension particular_importance image aim sense civic patriotism would encourage citizen make emotional financial investment community liverpool attain status city civic ideology city dominate image commerce notion imperial duty public_service celebrate commercial virtue many_aspect