Arthur Angell Phillips (13 August 1900 – 4 November 1985), generally known as A. A. Phillips, was an Australian writer, critic and teacher, best known for coining the term "

cultural cringe Cultural cringe, in cultural studies and social anthropology, is an internalized inferiority complex that causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries. It is closely related to the conc ...

" in his pioneering essay ''The Cultural Cringe'' (1950), which set the early terms for

post-colonial theory Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is ...

in Australia. He was educated at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denomination ...

and at the Universities of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and later taught at Wesley College in

. ''The Cultural Cringe'' was first published in the Melbourne cultural affairs journal ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisbane ...

''. It explored ingrained feelings of inferiority that local intellectuals struggled against, and which were most clearly pronounced in the Australian theatre, music, art and letters. Phillips pointed out that the public widely assumed that anything produced by local dramatists, actors, musicians, artists and writers was necessarily deficient when compared against the works of European counterparts. The only ways local arts professionals could build themselves up in public esteem was either to follow overseas fashions, or, more often, to spend a period of time working in Britain. In some professions this attitude even affected employment opportunities, with only those who had worked in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

being treated as worthy of appointment or promotion. Thus the cultural cringe brought about over the early to mid 20th century a pattern of temporary residence in Britain for so many young talented Australians across a broad range of fields, from the arts to the sciences. Phillips's influential and highly controversial essay served as the focus in his later book ''The Australian Tradition: Essays in Colonial Culture'' (1958).

Bibliography

* "The cultural cringe" ''Meanjin'' (1950) * ''The Australian Tradition: Studies in Colonial Culture,'' (Melbourne: Cheshire, 1958) * * ''Responses: Selected Writings,'' (Melbourne: Australia International Press and Publications Pty Ltd, 1979)

References

External links

Melbourne University Publishing: A.A. Phillips on The Cultural Cringe
1900 births 1985 deaths Australian educators 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Writers from Melbourne Australian literary critics Meanjin people Australian people of Jewish descent University of Melbourne alumni {{australia-writer-stub

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