The injection of the idea of British studies into the teaching of English literature can be a very salutary thing. The way in which English transcended mere nationality was part of the way in which it transcended pretty well everything and attempted to inculcate those elusive ‘purely literary values.’ English has always been bedevilled by a refusal to contextualise itself, in terms of nationality, history, politics, class, economics, psychology or indeed anything else. One of the many failings of the last political administration in Australia was its introduction of racial politics to cover up its betrayal of its socialist constituency. What a British studies programme could valuably do in Australia is show how divided a society Britain is and always has been.