Nations all have stories about themselves–where they came from, what it means to be a citizen of that nation, what its values are. In Myths and Sanctioned Ignorance in British Immigration Discourse, Samuel Bennett looks at British national myths about immigration and the country’s colonial history. Combining Critical Discourse Studies with decolonial and postcolonial theories, Bennett offers an in-depth, methodologically rigorous analysis of a wide range of material to show how current immigration discourses are inextricably tied to the past. The book identifies four key myths: euphemization of the Commonwealth (and erasure of Britain’s colonial history); immigration as both enrichment and threat; Britain offering a safe haven for those in need; and a teleological story of “British values.” Intentionally moving backwards and forwards between past and the present, and across genres, Bennett shows how the myths the UK tells itself are at once stable, deployed in different contexts, and historically rooted. Ultimately, this book argues that through these myths the migrant “Other”–and, by extension, British ethnic minorities–have been silenced and erased from the country’s story which legitimises a racialised immigration policy.

Nations all have stories about themselves–where they came from, what it means to be a citizen of that nation, what its values are. In Myths and Sanctioned Ignorance in British Immigration Discourse, Samuel Bennett looks at British national myths about immigration and the country’s colonial history. Combining Critical Discourse Studies with decolonial and postcolonial theories, Bennett offers an in-depth, methodologically rigorous analysis of a wide range of material to show how current immigration discourses are inextricably tied to the past. The book identifies four key myths: euphemization of the Commonwealth (and erasure of Britain’s colonial history); immigration as both enrichment and threat; Britain offering a safe haven for those in need; and a teleological story of “British values.” Intentionally moving backwards and forwards between past and the present, and across genres, Bennett shows how the myths the UK tells itself are at once stable, deployed in different contexts, and historically rooted. Ultimately, this book argues that through these myths the migrant “Other”–and, by extension, British ethnic minorities–have been silenced and erased from the country’s story which legitimises a racialised immigration policy.