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This major collection of essays challenges many of our
preconceptions about British political and social history from the
late eighteenth century to the present. Inspired by the work of
Gareth Stedman Jones, twelve leading scholars explore both the
long-term structures - social, political and intellectual - of
modern British history, and the forces that have transformed those
structures at key moments. The result is a series of insightful,
original essays presenting new research within a broad historical
context. Subjects covered include the consequences of rapid
demographic change in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the
forces shaping transnational networks, especially those between
Britain and its empire; and the recurrent problem of how we connect
cultural politics to social change. An introductory essay situates
Stedman Jones's work within the broader historiographical trends of
the past thirty years, drawing important conclusions about new
directions for scholarship in the twenty-first century.
Speaking for the People examines the popular appeal of Liberal, Tory and Labour politics between 1867 and 1914. The main theme of the book is a recognition, and exploration, of the problematic relationship between political parties and the people they sought to represent. The book challenges traditional ideas about the "triumph of party" after 1867, suggesting that politics remained much more fluid and unpredictable than historians have often allowed. It is this, the book suggests, that explains why politicians from most parties, including Labour, remained highly ambivalent about the likely consequences of further democratization.
Speaking for the People examines the popular appeal of Liberal, Tory and Labour politics between 1867 and 1914. The main theme of the book is a recognition, and exploration, of the problematic relationship between political parties and the people they sought to represent. The book challenges traditional ideas about the "triumph of party" after 1867, suggesting that politics remained much more fluid and unpredictable than historians have often allowed. It is this, the book suggests, that explains why politicians from most parties, including Labour, remained highly ambivalent about the likely consequences of further democratization.
This major collection of essays challenges many of our
preconceptions about British political and social history from the
late eighteenth century to the present. Inspired by the work of
Gareth Stedman Jones, twelve leading scholars explore both the
long-term structures - social, political and intellectual - of
modern British history, and the forces that have transformed those
structures at key moments. The result is a series of insightful,
original essays presenting new research within a broad historical
context. Subjects covered include the consequences of rapid
demographic change in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the
forces shaping transnational networks, especially those between
Britain and its empire; and the recurrent problem of how we connect
cultural politics to social change. An introductory essay situates
Stedman Jones's work within the broader historiographical trends of
the past thirty years, drawing important conclusions about new
directions for scholarship in the twenty-first century.
Conflict and cooperation have shaped the American Southwest since
prehistoric times. For centuries indigenous groups and, later,
Spaniards, French, and Anglo-Americans met, fought, and
collaborated with one another in this border area stretching from
Texas through southern California. To explore the region's complex
past from prehistory to the U.S. takeover, this book uses an
unusual multidisciplinary approach. In interviews with ten experts,
Deborah and Jon Lawrence discuss subjects ranging from warfare
among the earliest ancestral Puebloans to intermarriage and peonage
among Spanish settlers and the Indians they encountered. The
scholars interviewed form a distinguished array of archaeologists,
anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and historians: Juliana Barr,
Brian DeLay, Richard and Shirley Flint, John Kessell, Steven
LeBlanc, Mark Santiago, Polly Schaafsma, David J. Weber, and
Michael Wilcox. All speak forthrightly about complex and
controversial issues, and they do so with minimal academic jargon
and temporizing, bringing the most reliable information to bear on
every subject they discuss. Themes the authors address include the
origin and scope of conflicts between ethnic groups and the extent
of accommodation, cooperation, and cross-cultural adaptation that
also ensued. Seven interviews explore how Indians forced colonizers
to modify their behavior. All of the experts explain how they deal
with incomplete or biased sources to achieve balanced
interpretations. As the authors point out, no single discipline
provides a complete, accurate historical picture. Spanish documents
must be sifted for political and ideological distortion, the
archaeological record is incomplete, and oral traditions erode and
become corrupted over time. By assembling the most articulate
practitioners of all three approaches, the authors have produced a
book that will speak to general readers as well as scholars and
students in a variety of fields.
Many commentators tell us that, in today's world, everyday life has
become selfish and atomised-that individuals live only to consume.
But are they wrong? In Me, Me, Me, Jon Lawrence re-tells the story
of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary
people-including his own parents- to argue that, in fact,
friendship, family, and place all remain central to our daily
lives, and whilst community has changed, it is far from dead. He
shows how, in the years after the Second World War, people came
increasingly to question custom and tradition as the pressure to
conform to societal standards became intolerable. And as soon as
they could, millions escaped the closed, face-to-face communities
of Victorian Britain, where everyone knew your business. But this
was not a rejection of community per se, but an attempt to find
another, new way of living which was better suited to the modern
world. Community has become personal and voluntary, based on
genuine affection rather than proximity or need. We have never been
better connected or able to sustain the relationships that matter
to us. Me, Me, Me makes that case that it's time we valued and
nurtured these new groups, rather than lamenting the loss of more
'real' forms of community-it is all too easy to hold on to a
nostalgic view of the past.
Many commentators tell us that, in today's world, everyday life has
become selfish and atomised-that individuals live only to consume.
But are they wrong? In Me, Me, Me, Jon Lawrence re-tells the story
of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary
people-including his own parents- to argue that, in fact,
friendship, family, and place all remain central to our daily
lives, and whilst community has changed, it is far from dead. He
shows how, in the years after the Second World War, people came
increasingly to question custom and tradition as the pressure to
conform to societal standards became intolerable. And as soon as
they could, millions escaped the closed, face-to-face communities
of Victorian Britain, where everyone knew your business. But this
was not a rejection of community per se, but an attempt to find
another, new way of living which was better suited to the modern
world. Community has become personal and voluntary, based on
genuine affection rather than proximity or need. We have never been
better connected or able to sustain the relationships that matter
to us. Me, Me, Me makes that case that it's time we valued and
nurtured these new groups, rather than lamenting the loss of more
'real' forms of community-it is all too easy to hold on to a
nostalgic view of the past.
The Pastoral is the semi-fictional account of British composers
Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth during the First
World War. Both saw active service and witnessed the horrors of
trench warfare; Vaughan Williams as a member of the medical corp,
while Butterworth fought at the Battle of The Somme. Following the
events and timeline that we know to be true, Jon Lawrence offers a
hypothesis of what might have happened and considers how the
unimaginable terrors of war in France might affect the creative
mind. Although the book addresses the violent truth of conflict The
Pastoral is also a powerful story of friendship, courage and the
power of hope. Jon Lawrence lectures in music at City College
Norwich in the UK.
This book is a light hearted look at overcoming life's many trial
and tribluations. With a capacity to still laugh at the funny
things and cry at the sad. Finding humour in the face of adversity
is not always easy but is preferable to being unhappy, as we all
know life is just too short. There are moments of laughter in every
aspect of life, the trick is finding them!
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Discovery Miles 3 300
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