9781915249906
9781915249890
Distributed for University of London Press
Democratising History
Modern British History Inside and Out
An exploration of the intersections of politics and public engagement, Democratising History reveals how history itself has been shaped by democratic forces.
Democratising History inspects how democracy has reshaped modern Britain and how its history is taught, providing a new perspective on the evolving relationship between historical scholarship and education. Collectively, this volume responds to the scholarly and professional contributions of Peter Mandler, whose sensitive readings of cultural discourses and their social reach have inspired a generation of modern British historians. Through nine research-led chapters, the book explores the development of democratic ideals from the early nineteenth century to the present, addressing themes such as empire and culture. These historical investigations are interwoven with six stimulating interludes that critically assess the state of UK higher education and the professional field of modern British history, elucidating the shifting forces shaping historical research and policy today.
The authors examine in detail how democratic ideals have shaped British society in both expected and surprising ways—whether through museum collections, the art world, mass observation, or the study of race relations. Integrating historical analysis with reflections on contemporary academic practice, this work subverts traditional narratives and opens new avenues for understanding Britain’s past and its implications for the present.
Democratising History inspects how democracy has reshaped modern Britain and how its history is taught, providing a new perspective on the evolving relationship between historical scholarship and education. Collectively, this volume responds to the scholarly and professional contributions of Peter Mandler, whose sensitive readings of cultural discourses and their social reach have inspired a generation of modern British historians. Through nine research-led chapters, the book explores the development of democratic ideals from the early nineteenth century to the present, addressing themes such as empire and culture. These historical investigations are interwoven with six stimulating interludes that critically assess the state of UK higher education and the professional field of modern British history, elucidating the shifting forces shaping historical research and policy today.
The authors examine in detail how democratic ideals have shaped British society in both expected and surprising ways—whether through museum collections, the art world, mass observation, or the study of race relations. Integrating historical analysis with reflections on contemporary academic practice, this work subverts traditional narratives and opens new avenues for understanding Britain’s past and its implications for the present.
Table of Contents
* Introduction: Democratising history inside and out
*Laura Carter and Freddy Foks*
* Interlude a. New Challenges: Teaching Modern History in a ‘new university’
*Iwan Morgan*
* **Part I. Victorian Britain, progress, and the wider world**
* 1 Opium, ‘civilisation’, and the Anglo-Chinese Wars, 1839–1860
*Philip Harling*
* 2 Archibald Alison’s Revolution
*Ben Weinstein*
* Interlude b. Peter and the Special Relationship
*Deborah Cohen, Guy Ortolano and Susan Pedersen*
* **Part II. Culture, consumption and democratisation in Britain since the nineteenth century**
* Interlude c. Olden Times and Changing Times: Museum interpretation and display in twenty-first century Britain
*Rebecca Lyons*
* 3 Painting for pleasure: The rise and decline of the amateur artist in Victorian Britain
*Sally Woodcock*
* 4 Collecting for the Nation: The National Art Collections Fund and the gallery-visiting public in interwar Britain
*Heidi Egginton*
* Interlude d. Professionalisation, publishing and policy: Peter Mandler and the Royal Historical Society
*Margot Finn and Richard Fisher*
* **Part III. ‘Experts’ and their publics in twentieth-century Britain**
* Interlude e. Accountability and double counting in research funding for UK higher education: The case of the Global Challenges Research Fund
*Ambreena Manji*
* 5 Reluctant pioneers: British anthropologists amongst the Natives of Modern Japan, c. 1929–1930
*Chika Tonooka*
* 6 An American Mass Observer among the natives: Robert Jackson Alexander in World War Two Britain
*Lawrence Black*
* 7 Architecture and sociology: Oliver Cox and Mass Observation
*Otto Saumarez Smith*
* 8 Re-reading “race relations research”: Journalism, social science, and separateness
*Christopher Hilliard*
* Interlude f. The Historical Association, schools, and the history curriculum
*Andrew Stacey-Chapman and Rebecca Sullivan*
* 9 ‘Democracy’ and ‘expertise’ in two secondary modern schools in Liverpool, 1930–1967
*Rosie Germain*
*Laura Carter and Freddy Foks*
* Interlude a. New Challenges: Teaching Modern History in a ‘new university’
*Iwan Morgan*
* **Part I. Victorian Britain, progress, and the wider world**
* 1 Opium, ‘civilisation’, and the Anglo-Chinese Wars, 1839–1860
*Philip Harling*
* 2 Archibald Alison’s Revolution
*Ben Weinstein*
* Interlude b. Peter and the Special Relationship
*Deborah Cohen, Guy Ortolano and Susan Pedersen*
* **Part II. Culture, consumption and democratisation in Britain since the nineteenth century**
* Interlude c. Olden Times and Changing Times: Museum interpretation and display in twenty-first century Britain
*Rebecca Lyons*
* 3 Painting for pleasure: The rise and decline of the amateur artist in Victorian Britain
*Sally Woodcock*
* 4 Collecting for the Nation: The National Art Collections Fund and the gallery-visiting public in interwar Britain
*Heidi Egginton*
* Interlude d. Professionalisation, publishing and policy: Peter Mandler and the Royal Historical Society
*Margot Finn and Richard Fisher*
* **Part III. ‘Experts’ and their publics in twentieth-century Britain**
* Interlude e. Accountability and double counting in research funding for UK higher education: The case of the Global Challenges Research Fund
*Ambreena Manji*
* 5 Reluctant pioneers: British anthropologists amongst the Natives of Modern Japan, c. 1929–1930
*Chika Tonooka*
* 6 An American Mass Observer among the natives: Robert Jackson Alexander in World War Two Britain
*Lawrence Black*
* 7 Architecture and sociology: Oliver Cox and Mass Observation
*Otto Saumarez Smith*
* 8 Re-reading “race relations research”: Journalism, social science, and separateness
*Christopher Hilliard*
* Interlude f. The Historical Association, schools, and the history curriculum
*Andrew Stacey-Chapman and Rebecca Sullivan*
* 9 ‘Democracy’ and ‘expertise’ in two secondary modern schools in Liverpool, 1930–1967
*Rosie Germain*