The History of the “Special Relationship” between Great Britain and the U.S. from the Colonial Era to the Present

FAIN: HB-251183-17

Francis Hugh Wilford
CSU, Long Beach (Long Beach, CA 90840-0004)

Research for and writing of a book-length study of British-U.S. relations as viewed through family and emotional ties.

This project examines the history of the “special relationship” between Great Britain and the United States from the perspective of intimate relations. Influenced by the recent cultural and emotional turns of diplomatic history, and drawing on a wide range of historical sources and cultural texts, it examines how matters of the heart have linked – and divided – British and American men and women from the colonial era to the present. It also considers how the language and imagery of intimate affiliation – in particular, of gender, emotion, and sex – have both reflected and shaped political relations between the two English-speaking empires. By turning its focus on the personal sphere of trans-Atlantic relations, The Anglo-American Romance provides a new, critical lens for interrogating the evolution of an alliance that continues to hold tremendous global significance in the twenty-first century, for both good and ill.

Associated Products

Covert Empire: The CIA and the Third World in the Global Cold War (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Covert Empire: The CIA and the Third World in the Global Cold War
Author: Hugh Wilford
Abstract: This conference presentation explored the continuities between late British imperialism and U.S. interventions in the Cold War post-colonial world, particularly with regard to intimate personal relations.
Date Range: October 2019
Location: North American Society for Intelligence History, Conference, Washington, DC

Covert Empire: The CIA and U.S. Power in the Global Cold War (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Covert Empire: The CIA and U.S. Power in the Global Cold War
Author: Hugh Wilford
Abstract: This seminar presentation explored continuities between late British imperialism and U.S. interventions in the Cold War post-colonial world, particularly with regard to intimate personal relations.
Date Range: October 2019
Location: History Department Research Seminar, California State University, Long Beach

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