Regional Identity: North East England
by The North East can be defined by reference to its geography, history and culture. Geographically, the North East is defined as the region comprising the historic counties of Newcastle and GatesheadDurham and Northumberland, and the modern county of Tyne and Wear. This region is regarded as an entity with its own culture.
Image via Wikipedia
It has been suggested that we frequently become aware of places through cultural representations of them. These inevitably colour our perception of that place in ways we are rarely fully conscious of. Together these representations form a discourse – a conversation that takes place not between individuals, but between different cultural representations, images, texts etc. In discourse theory, a picture of the region is gradually built up, but disguises its sources. The various origins of the picture remain unclear and the picture itself constantly changes as more images accumulate and modify it.
Bill Lancaster argues that regions form ‘imagined communities’ – they are bound together by shared histories, myths, traditions and popular culture. Lancaster dates the formation of the North East’s modern identity to the 1860s, when the region was at the height of its industrial success. This generated a body of industrial imagery, which has continued to dominate the discourse of the North East:
- William Bell Scott’s Iron and Coal (1861) is a famous painting of North East industry.
- Neville Hall in Newcastle (1869-72) was built as the headquarters of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. This was the centre of the mining industry in the North East of England.
Conversely, the working classes had very few ways to represent themselves. One medium they did have was trade union banners.
20th century representations include the photography of Jimmy Forsythe, an amateur photographer who has documented working class life on Tyneside since the 1950s.
Reading
Colls, R. and Lancaster, B. (eds.) (1992) Geordies: Roots of Regionalism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Colls, R. and Lancaster, B. (eds.) (2001) Newcastle upon Tyne: A Modern History. Chichester: Phillimore.
Faulkner, T.E. (ed.) Northumbrian Panorama: Studies in the History and Culture of North East England. London: Octavian Press.
Hutchings, P. ‘“When the going gets tough…” Representations of the North East in Film and Television’ in Faulkner, T. E. (ed.) Northumbrian Panorama: Studies in the History and Culture of North East England. London: Octavian Press.
Pearson, L.F. (1996) Northern City: An Architectural History of Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle: Newcastle City Libraries.
Newcastle Upon Tyne coat of arms
Image via Wikipedia
Liked it
-
Post CommentFrancois Hagnere
On August 5, 2009 at 9:02 am
Culture and environment have a great influence on people.
Beautiful region indeed!
Thank you,
François