Power, cosmopolitanism and socio-spatial division in the commercial arena in Victorian and Edwardian London

Silva, Elisabete Mendes

Publication

Power, cosmopolitanism and socio-spatial division in the commercial arena in Victorian and Edwardian London

2019Conference object

dc.contributor.author	Silva, Elisabete Mendes
dc.date.accessioned	2020-02-26T11:25:55Z
dc.date.available	2020-02-26T11:25:55Z
dc.date.issued	2019
dc.description.abstract	The developments of the English Revolution and of the British Empire expedited commerce and transformed the social and cultural status quo of Britain and the world. More specifically in London, the metropolis of the country, in the eighteenth century, there were already a sheer number of retail shops that would set forth an urban world of commerce and consumerism. Magnificent and wide-ranging shops served householders with commodities that mesmerized consumers, giving way to new traditions within the commercial and social fabric of London. Therefore, going shopping during the Victorian Age became mandatory in the middle and upper classes’ social agendas. Harrod’s Department store opens in 1864, adding new elements to retailing by providing a sole space with a myriad of different commodities. In 1909, Gordon Selfridge opens Selfridge’s, transforming the concept of urban commerce by imposing a more cosmopolitan outlook in the commercial arena. Within this context, I intend to focus primarily on two of the largest department stores, Harrods and Selfridge’s, drawing attention to the way these two spaces were perceived when they first opened to the public and the effect they had in the city of London and in its people. I shall discuss how these department stores rendered space for social inclusion and exclusion, gender and race under the spell of the Victorian ethos, national conservatism and imperialism. I shall also argue that they brought about new social, cultural and work space opportunities, transforming social and cultural dynamics and power, being nowadays considered undeniable heritage icons, as they became popular tourist attractions, of the Londoner culture and of the commercial sphere. Lastly, my research will concurrently provide insight into the social history of the Victorian age and the early decades of the twentieth century.	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.citation	Silva, Elisabete Mendes (2019). Power, cosmopolitanism and socio-spatial division in the commercial arena in Victorian and Edwardian London. In 1st Global Congerence: Spaces and Places: a global transformation project. Bruges	pt_PT
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10198/20681
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	Cultural identity	pt_PT
dc.subject	Social inclusion	pt_PT
dc.subject	Cosmopolitanism	pt_PT
dc.subject	Power	pt_PT
dc.subject	Gender	pt_PT
dc.subject	Commercial arena	pt_PT
dc.title	Power, cosmopolitanism and socio-spatial division in the commercial arena in Victorian and Edwardian London	pt_PT
dc.type	conference object
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.conferencePlace	Bruges	pt_PT
oaire.citation.title	1st Global Congerence: Spaces and Places: a global transformation project	pt_PT
person.familyName	Silva
person.givenName	Elisabete Mendes
person.identifier.ciencia-id	EE12-AC24-227B
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-1782-2567
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	conferenceObject	pt_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	c6cfeddd-2444-47cd-bd74-1da763a86608
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	c6cfeddd-2444-47cd-bd74-1da763a86608