In Search Of Cornwall

In Search of Cornwall is the fourth volume in the third series of Cornish Studies and intended as the catalyst for a new collection of thematic volumes that will develop both the series and the discipline over the next few years.

The launch of this edited collection of papers demonstrates that a desire on the part of researchers to investigate the story of Cornwall still appeals in the present day. It is edited by Garry Tregidga, Co-Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, and brings together the work of established and emerging scholars who explore a wide variety of topics such as emigration, folklore, heritage, literature, politics and sport. In Search of Cornwall is the fourth volume in the third series of Cornish Studies and intended as the catalyst for a new collection of thematic volumes that will develop both the series and the discipline over the next few years. There is an impressive list of fourteen contributors: Mike Bender, Bernard Deacon, Richard Harris, Cheryl Hayden, Victoria Jenner, Ronald James, Rosanna Keane, Charlotte MacKenzie, Brendan McMahon, Rebecca Orchard, Philip Payton, Garry Tregidga, Mike Tripp and Derek Williams. 

Bob Keys, Film and Folklore Director of Cornish Story, concludes that ‘The fourth volume of the current series of Cornish Studies raises the most pertinent of questions for all those proud of Cornish heritage and concerned about the future of Kernow in a world of global corporate capitalism. Is there a danger that ‘Brand Cornwall’ will refer in the future to nothing more than an empty advertising slogan? The essays here suggest not and testify to the vibrant and thought provoking research of a new generation of scholars building on that earlier legacy of Phillip Payton, Charles Thomas and even beyond to A.L.Rowse, Charles Henderson and the original pioneers of the Old Cornwall societies’. 

In Search of Cornwall was published in December 2021 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of the Institute of Cornish Studies. The chapters suggest that the multi-disciplinary nature of Cornish Studies is still to the fore in line with advances in the discipline during the 1990s. Other concerns outlined in the introduction include the need for the Institute to embrace democratic scholarship, encourage generational continuity to provide opportunities for younger scholars and recognise the role of ‘post-academic’ writers in the arts, humanities and social sciences. By this process of academic renewal Cornish Studies will continue to be a dynamic field in the years ahead. 

ISBN 978-1-9161022-2-4

Published in 2021 by Cornish Story in association with the Institute of Cornish Studies  

To purchase a copy (£10 plus postage and packing) please email cornishstudies@exeter.ac.uk or telephone 07714210966