Constructing National Identity Through Popular Music

The thesis aims to investigate the role of popular music in the construction and maintenance of national identity through the case study of Britpop,a musical and cultural scene in the mid-1990 s.Particular attention is paid to how Britpop relate to the contemporary audience in terms of the reconstruction of British national identity.It argues that national identity and popular music are synergistic.Britpop documents both the collectively imagined past,as well as the Britain as they see it in the 1990 s,thus continuing the nostalgic Britishness while reconstructing a new set of ideas of what it means to be British.In the 21 st century,Britpop is facilitated as part of the nostalgic Britishness,and re-introduced to the younger generation through the endorsement of media and large public events.