A Companion To Contemporary Britain 1939 2000

A Companion to Contemporary Britain covers the key themesand debates of 20th-century history from the outbreak of the SecondWorld War to the end of the century. Assesses the impact of the Second World War Looks at Britain’s role in the wider world, including thelegacy of Empire, Britain’s ‘specialrelationship’ with the United States, and integration withcontinental Europe Explores cultural issues, such as class consciousness,immigration and race relations, changing gender roles, and theimpact of the mass media Covers domestic politics and the economy Introduces the varied perspectives dominating historicalwriting on this period Identifies the key issues which are likely to fuel futuredebate

Based on empirical evidence derived from university and national archives across the country and interviews with participants, British Student Activism in the Long Sixtiesreconstructs the world of university students in the 1960s and 1970s. Student accounts are placed within the context of a wide variety of primary and secondary sources from across Britain and the world, making this project the first book-length history of the British student movement to employ literary and theoretical frameworks which differentiate it from most other histories of student activism to date. Globalization, especially of mass communications, made British students aware of global problems such as the threat of nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, racism, sexism and injustice. British students applied these global ideas to their own unique circumstances, using their intellectual traditions and political theories which resulted in unique outcomes. British student activists effectively gained support from students, staff, and workers for their struggle for student’s rights to unionize, freely assemble and speak, and participate in university decision-making. Their campaigns effectively raised public awareness of these issues and contributed to significant national decisions in many considerable areas.

The first comprehensive account of civil liberties activism throughout twentieth-century Britain, focusing primarily on the National Council for Civil Liberties.

The History of Britain and Ireland: Prehistory to Today is a balanced and integrated political, social, cultural, and religious history of the British Isles. Kenneth Campbell explores the constantly evolving dialogue and relationship between the past and the present. Written in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall demonstrations, The History of Britain and Ireland examines the history of Britain and Ireland at a time when it asks difficult questions of its past and looks to the future. Campbell places Black history at the forefront of his analysis and offers a voice to marginalised communities, to craft a complete and comprehensive history of Britain and Ireland from Prehistory to Today. This book is unique in that it integrates the histories of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to provide a balanced view of British history. Building on the successful foundations laid by the first edition, the book has been updated to include: · COVID-19 and earlier diseases in history · LGBT History · A fresh appraisal of Winston Churchill · Brexit and the subsequent negotiations · 45 illustrations Richly illustrated and focusing on the major turning points in British history, this book helps students engage with British history and think critically about the topic.

The Routledge Companion to Twentieth-Century Britain is a jargon-free guide to the social, economic and political history of Britain since 1900. Opening with a general introduction and overview of twentieth century Britain, the book contains a wealth of chronologies, facts and figures, introductions to major themes, the historiography of twentieth century Britain, a guide to sources and resources, biographies of the most important figures and a dictionary of key terms, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to this key period of change and development in this most urban of nations. From the outbreak of World War One, to the introduction of the NHS, to the first television set, this book covers in detail some of the most important events that shaped twentieth-century Britain. Topics discussed include: class: the working and middle classes gender: women’s history ethnicity: immigration and the idea of multicultural Britain social policy: poverty and welfare economic paradox: decline and affluence economic change: manufacturing and services popular culture: music, fashion, sports, screen liberalisation: Victorian Values and permissiveness political parties: the major and minor parties governments: achievements and problems the wider world: Ireland; decolonization; European integration. Packed with useful information, this guide will be an indispensable reference tool for all those seeking an introduction to twentieth century British history.

This collection of essays offers the first comprehensive treatment of British and American films adapted from modern British plays. Offering insights into the mutually profitable relationship between the newest performance medium and the most ancient. With each chapter written by an expert in the field, Modern British Drama on Screen focuses on key playwrights of the period including George Bernard Shaw, Somerset Maugham, Terence Rattigan, Noel Coward and John Osborne and the most significant British drama of the past century from Pygmalion to The Madness of George III. Most chapters are devoted to single plays and the transformations they underwent in the move from stage to screen. Ideally suited for classroom use, this book offers a semester's worth of introductory material for the study of theater and film in modern Britain, widely acknowledged as a world center of dramatic productions for both the stage and screen.

Focusing on a series of policy initiatives from the late 1960s through to the end of the 1970s, this book looks at how successive governments tried to address growing concerns about urban deprivation across Britain. It provides unique insights into policy and governance and into the socio-economic and cultural causes and consequences of poverty. Starting with the impact of redevelopment policies, immigration and the rise of the ‘inner city’, this book examines the pressures and challenges that explain the development of policy by successive Labour and Conservative governments. It looks at the effectiveness and limits of different community development approaches and at the inadequacies of policy in tackling urban deprivation. In doing so, the book highlights the restricted impact of pilot projects and reform of public services in resolving deprivation as well as the broader limits of social planning and state welfare. Crucially, it also plots the shift in policy from an emphasis on achieving statutory service efficiencies and rolling out social development programmes towards an ever-greater stress on regeneration and support for private capital as the solution to transforming the inner city.