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Reclaiming William MorrisEnglishness, Sublimity, and the Rhetoric of Dissent |
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A critical analysis of the tactical and ethical difficulties of English communist propaganda of the 1930s and 1950s.
Casting new light on the relations between nationalism, rhetoric, and revolution, Michelle Weinroth shows how the English legacy of William Morris was appropriated in the interests of political forces seeking hegemonic power. She argues that Conservative claimants disseminated Morris's aesthetic oeuvre readily, declaring it the embodiment of English sensibility. Communists, however, struggled to retain Morris's Englishness while promoting his political doctrine. Weinroth demonstrates that these peripheral ideologues were caught in a paradox: they could not grip the masses without the aesthetic appeal of Englishness, but Englishness was imbued with the very imperialism that they abhorred. Theirs was a propaganda strained by the conflict between political dissent and ruling-class cultural forms.
Moving through theoretical, historical, and exegetical analyses of propagandist texts, Reclaiming William Morris brings out the aesthetic underpinnings of nationalist ideology. Combining the philosophical substance of Karl Marx, Georg Lukács, Antonio Gramsci, and Ernst Bloch with Kantian aesthetics, Weinroth constructs a conceptual apparatus that explains the impassioned yet decidedly marginal rhetoric of early twentieth-century English communism.
Moving through theoretical, historical, and exegetical analyses of propagandist texts, Reclaiming William Morris brings out the aesthetic underpinnings of nationalist ideology. Combining the philosophical substance of Karl Marx, Georg Lukács, Antonio Gramsci, and Ernst Bloch with Kantian aesthetics, Weinroth constructs a conceptual apparatus that explains the impassioned yet decidedly marginal rhetoric of early twentieth-century English communism.
Details
320 Pages
ISBN 9780773514393
September 1996
Formats: Cloth, eBook
"An interesting contribution to cultural studies. Weinroth's close readings of various propaganda are particularly effective. She demonstrates most convincingly that dissenting propaganda cannot easily disentangle itself from the fetishistic ideologies of the bourgeois society it seeks to contest." Evelyn Cobley, Department of English, University of Victoria
"In an extremely well-written and insightful work, Weinroth looks at the differing ways in which conservatives and communists alike appropriated Morris's life and work in their attempt to galvanize support for their political agendas in England ... In the process, Weinroth deftly elucidates the aesthetic character of ideologies in general, the necessity of incorporating nationalist sentiments into viable political discourses, and the dilemmas facing Leftist activists in building a mass movement for their cause. An important work for those interested in Morris, cultural theory, and political rhetoric." B. J. Macdonald, CHOICE
"Connecting Kant with Communist Englishness might be considered a stretch, but Michelle Weinroth's book does so very successfully. Part of that connection lies with the attempt on the part of Communists to recapture the radical legacy of William Morris from the celebratory smugness of English Conservatism resulting from the Morris centenary commemorations of 1934. In a superb analysis of Baldwin's inaugural speech, Weinroth argues that Morris 'received [his] almost indelible seal as a repository of artistic genius and English character. Nationalism and beauty were coalesced in one cultural profile.'" Jeremy Caple, Canadian Book Review Annual
"This book is distinctive in engaging in an elaborate investigation of the sublime in modern political experience. While there are already a few general treatments of the topic, there is a relative dearth of detailed analyses of it. Reclaiming William Morris fills that gap, and so it is highly recommended reading for anyone who wishes to pursue contemporary renditions of a Kantian aesthetics. I, for one, am looking forward to further installments of Weinroth's forays into the manifestations of the sublime in contemporary forms of communication." Astrid Vicas, Saint Leo College, Florida. AE Journal of the Canadian Society for Aesthetics
"As Weinroth traces the changes in Communist rhetoric about Morris, she details the problematic relationship between Communists and "their country." She understands that this relationship, whether in England or in any other country, will always be contested and contradictory. By using British Communists' views of Morris she elucidates this process in an engaging and nuanced manner. Yet Weinroth takes this further. She uses her analysis of these texts to explore the role of utopianism within the Marxist project, and indeed the nature of Marxism itself, as a rhetorical strategy for revolutionaries...Indeed the Communist approach to Morris becomes a window into understanding how a utopian project is situated within Marxism. This utopian project the demand for human happiness and fulfillment is both necessary to Marxism and contradictory to the analytical and "scientific" strains within Marxism. By analyzing the nature of Communist rhetoric Weinroth rescues the socialist vision from being obscured within the Marxist project itself." Paul Mishler, Science and Society
"In an extremely well-written and insightful work, Weinroth looks at the differing ways in which conservatives and communists alike appropriated Morris's life and work in their attempt to galvanize support for their political agendas in England ... In the process, Weinroth deftly elucidates the aesthetic character of ideologies in general, the necessity of incorporating nationalist sentiments into viable political discourses, and the dilemmas facing Leftist activists in building a mass movement for their cause. An important work for those interested in Morris, cultural theory, and political rhetoric." B. J. Macdonald, CHOICE
"Connecting Kant with Communist Englishness might be considered a stretch, but Michelle Weinroth's book does so very successfully. Part of that connection lies with the attempt on the part of Communists to recapture the radical legacy of William Morris from the celebratory smugness of English Conservatism resulting from the Morris centenary commemorations of 1934. In a superb analysis of Baldwin's inaugural speech, Weinroth argues that Morris 'received [his] almost indelible seal as a repository of artistic genius and English character. Nationalism and beauty were coalesced in one cultural profile.'" Jeremy Caple, Canadian Book Review Annual
"This book is distinctive in engaging in an elaborate investigation of the sublime in modern political experience. While there are already a few general treatments of the topic, there is a relative dearth of detailed analyses of it. Reclaiming William Morris fills that gap, and so it is highly recommended reading for anyone who wishes to pursue contemporary renditions of a Kantian aesthetics. I, for one, am looking forward to further installments of Weinroth's forays into the manifestations of the sublime in contemporary forms of communication." Astrid Vicas, Saint Leo College, Florida. AE Journal of the Canadian Society for Aesthetics
"As Weinroth traces the changes in Communist rhetoric about Morris, she details the problematic relationship between Communists and "their country." She understands that this relationship, whether in England or in any other country, will always be contested and contradictory. By using British Communists' views of Morris she elucidates this process in an engaging and nuanced manner. Yet Weinroth takes this further. She uses her analysis of these texts to explore the role of utopianism within the Marxist project, and indeed the nature of Marxism itself, as a rhetorical strategy for revolutionaries...Indeed the Communist approach to Morris becomes a window into understanding how a utopian project is situated within Marxism. This utopian project the demand for human happiness and fulfillment is both necessary to Marxism and contradictory to the analytical and "scientific" strains within Marxism. By analyzing the nature of Communist rhetoric Weinroth rescues the socialist vision from being obscured within the Marxist project itself." Paul Mishler, Science and Society
Michelle Weinroth is an independent scholar working in Ottawa.
