Rude Britannia

"Although everything else in this country may be going down the pan, this book proves that Britain's proud tradition of vulgarity is still in rude health", Simon Thorp and Graham Dury, editors of VIZ 'this is a truly exciting project: it brings the "rude" out into the open, and situates it in oppositionality and cultural conflict. I'm sure this book will provoke readers, in ways that rudeness ordinarily doesn't, as well as educate and entertain.' Amit Chaudhuri, author and Reader at the University of East Anglia 'Rude Britannia is one of the most compelling books on British taboos that I have ever read. What made the book essential reading for me was that it doesn't have an ideological axe to grind: while much of what it unearths is eye-poppingly surprising, the writers' cool scholarly approach means that the book never becomes preachy or prudish. Throughout, there is a wry humour: Theo Tait's essay on 'How Viz made Britain ruder' had me laughing out loud. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Britain's uniquely yobbish and concomitantly dynamic culture.' Francis Gilbert, author of Yob Nation Once characterized as a polite nation, reserved and well-mannered, the British are increasingly seen as rude: a country of foul-mouthed football hooligans and drunken ladettes. Rude Britannia places these contemporary concerns about rudeness in relation to wider discussions of culture, class and national identity. Examining representations of rudeness in newspapers and the broadcast media, as well as in dictionaries, literature and popular culture, Rude Britannia contributes to current debates about the nature of Britishness. Edited by Mina Gorji and featuring contributions from Tom Paulin, Deborah Cameron and Lynda Mugglestone, this timely and authoritative exploration of rudeness in modern English will be invaluable to those interested in the English language and British culture. Mina Gorji is a research fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford University ENGLISH LANGUAGE/BRITISH STUDIESGorji, Mina is the author of 'Rude Britannia', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415382762 and ISBN 0415382769.