• DOI:10.1080/13527258.2011.557835
• Corpus ID: 162441031

ss Great Britain and the containment of British collective memory

@article{Withers2011ssGB,
  title={ss Great Britain and the containment of British collective memory},
  author={D -M Withers},
  journal={International Journal of Heritage Studies},
  year={2011},
  volume={17},
  pages={245 - 260}
}

• D. Withers
• Published 25 March 2011
• History, Sociology
• International Journal of Heritage Studies

This article explores the Bristol‐based ss Great Britain and the heritage industry dedicated to it. It critically examines how the museum, which is based within the ship itself, allows visitors to ‘feel good’ about the history of British colonialism by acting as a container for British collective memory. It examines how the key narrative in the exhibition is structured as an affective journey of hope for a better future based primarily around the journey of British people to Australia in the mid‐nineteenth century. It is argued that it is no longer acceptable that public heritage institutions, such as the ss Great Britain, continue to represent British colonial history as a voyage of economic and personal discovery for white settlers.