The Friends of Edward Carpenter are a small group of people who are dedicated to establishing a permanent memorial to Edward Carpenter in Sheffield City Centre, recognising his historical and social importance and unique association with the city. Edward Carpenter (1844 -1929) was a significant cultural and political activist, who advocated the ‘Simplification of Life’ and put his beliefs into practice. He campaigned throughout his life on … Continue reading Edward Carpenter
The book offers an original perspective on the significance of both racism and anti-racism in the making of the English working class across two centuries. While racism became a powerful structuring force within this social class from as early as the mid-Victorian period, this book also traces the episodic emergence of currents of working class anti-racism. Through an insistence that race is central to the … Continue reading Racism, Class and the Racialized Outsider
The Society has issued a a letter in support of the Working Class Movement Library in Salford after recent accusations made in an election pamphlet by Robin Garrido. Garrido, a councillor and leader of Salford Conservative party, claims that the WCML “is not a proper accessible library, you need to make an appointment to visit. Also you can’t borrow books like you can at an ordinary library.” … Continue reading Maxine Peake and the SSLH support the WCML
Long before the arrival of the ‘Empire Windrush’ after the Second World War, Liverpool was widely known for its polyglot population, its boisterous ‘sailortown’ and cosmopolitan profile of transients, sojourners and settlers. Regarding Britain as the mother country, ‘coloured’ colonials arrived in Liverpool for what they thought to be internal migration into a common British world. What they encountered, however, was very different. Their legal … Continue reading Before the Windrush
My doctoral research, ‘States of Exception: emergency government and the construction of “enemies within” in Britain and Germany during the First World War’, is a comparative study of emergency measures under the Defence of the Realm Act and the state of siege during the Great War. These emergency laws gave wartime governments extraordinary powers that were primarily used to deal with strike movements and anti-war … Continue reading André Keil (Northumbria) on the ‘enemy within’ in First World War Britain and Germany
At the time of writing, seventy-five MPs have signed an Early Day Motion proposing that the House of Commons celebrates the 175th anniversary of the launch of the People’s Charter in 1838. Signatories include MPs from the Conservative, Democratic Unionist, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru, Scottish Nationalist, and Social Democratic and Labour parties. The motion, whose primary sponsor is Dr Hywel Francis (MP for Aberavon), … Continue reading 175 years of the People’s Charter
The Society for the Study of Labour History is delighted to announce that Professor Keith Laybourn has agreed to be President of the Society. Previously this post was occupied by Eric Hobsbawm who died earlier this year. As a leading labour historian Keith has written and edited 46 books and about 75 articles. Much of his early research was on the Labour Party and the … Continue reading New president for the SSLH
The eminent historian Eric Hobsbawm died 1 October 2012 at the age of 95. He wrote more than 30 books. His reputation rests largely on four works, including History of the 20th Century, The Age of Extremes, which has been translated into 40 languages. Born to Jewish parents in Egypt in 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution, Prof Hobsbawm’s life and works were shaped … Continue reading Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012)
We are very sad to announce the death at the age of 87 of Eric Taplin, who passed away on Saturday 22 September. Eric was a wonderful teacher, and great scholar. He became the foremost historian of Liverpool Labour History, and especially of the Liverpool dockers and seafarers. His work on the Liverpool dockers’ union was pioneering at the time, and opened up the field … Continue reading Eric Taplin (1925-2012)
Rein van der Leeuw, director of the International Institute of Social History from 1974 until 1986, passed away on 6 September 2012. Continue reading Rein van der Leeuw (1920-2012)
Society for the Study of Labour History 