Oslavy národa: Světová výstava 1851 a Festival of Britain (1951)

The bachelor thesis deals with two major historical events designed to celebrate British economy, engineering, and scientific and cultural achievements - the Great Exhibition of 1851 and Festival of Britain (1951) - from the perspective of national identity and the notion of Britishness. The first part of the thesis introduces both events, including the reasons leading to their realisation, their courses, impacts and the contemporary public responses. The main comparative-analytical part focuses on the ways of generating and representing a specific image of the British nation and forging British national identity. The comparative analysis is aimed at the identification of the relationship between the two events and the related political-cultural shifts in understanding British national identity