Category: MA & BA bursaries

Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Lola Mills (Warwick) on the forgotten history of the Canary Girls

Women who worked in munition factories during the First World War were known as the Canary Girls. The nickname was reminiscent of the effects of the chemical TNT, as it gave their skin a yellow tint. Whilst the fight of their male counterparts  on the front line was at the forefront of the public’s mind, the Canary Girls’ work was hidden within the walls of … Continue reading Lola Mills (Warwick) on the forgotten history of the Canary Girls

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Jamie Ferris (Northumbria) on British reactions to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

National responses to an invasion are often thought about in simplified terms, seeing it as an outrage. This was even more true of invasions during the Cold War. Britain’s response to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is coloured by this Cold War lens, with anti-communist figures such as Margaret Thatcher condemning the war and following the USA in taking action against the USSR. My … Continue reading Jamie Ferris (Northumbria) on British reactions to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Jay Kerslake (Leeds) on the role of poetry in The Woman Worker

Trade unionism, prior to the First World War, can easily appear a solely male occupation. Female workers were excluded from many unions on grounds of sex and subsequently despised by many of their male peers for driving down wages. This made women especially vulnerable to exploitative labour practices and also weakened male union action, which was undercut by cheap, unorganised female labour. In 1906 Mary … Continue reading Jay Kerslake (Leeds) on the role of poetry in The Woman Worker

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Klara Rihakova (Northumbria) examines transnational student activism in the Prague Spring of 1968

My BA project examines the transnational elements of student activism in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the role that Czechoslovak students played in the period preceding the social and political events of the Prague Spring as well as the disappointment following the crisis of August 1968. Drawing on a range of contemporary newspapers and government documents from British and Czech archives as well as student … Continue reading Klara Rihakova (Northumbria) examines transnational student activism in the Prague Spring of 1968

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Mick Ekers (Essex) on Burston strike school master Tom Higdon and labour activism between the wars

Mick Ekers visits Norfolk Record Office to research the life in politics of Tom Higdon, one of the two teachers at the heart of the famous Burston School Strike which lasted from 1914 to 1939. The story of the Burston School Strike is quite well known. In 1914 Annie and Tom Higdon, two teachers in a village school in Norfolk, were sacked as a result … Continue reading Mick Ekers (Essex) on Burston strike school master Tom Higdon and labour activism between the wars

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Jessica Kumar (Liverpool John Moores) on exploring the League of Nations Union in the North-West of England

A generous bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History enabled me to gather invaluable material for my master’s dissertation regarding the League of Nations Union (LNU) in the North-West of England, a project I am undertaking at Liverpool John Moores University Continue reading Jessica Kumar (Liverpool John Moores) on exploring the League of Nations Union in the North-West of England

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Thomas Ottley (Edge Hill) visits the Searchlight archive to research the ideology of the National Front

The bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History allowed me to complete research for my dissertation project that I am undertaking at Edge Hill University. My dissertation assesses how the National Front sought to sell their ideology to difference audiences, with a particular focus on working-class votes. Specifically, it examines how the party used Spearhead (the National Front’s mouthpiece journal) to build … Continue reading Thomas Ottley (Edge Hill) visits the Searchlight archive to research the ideology of the National Front

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Matthew Case-Legge (Chichester) on the Labour Party and the debate over public ownership

I visited the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, attached to the People’s History Museum in Manchester. For my dissertation, I wanted to examine the development of the Labour Party’s conception of the public ownership of industry during the inter-war period. Before arriving I was not sure quite which industry to focus on, waiting for that to be informed by the amount of material available. … Continue reading Matthew Case-Legge (Chichester) on the Labour Party and the debate over public ownership

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Beth Fisher (York) on the Labour Party’s foreign policy towards Nazi Germany, 1936-1939

With the help of the generous bursary given by the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to make three research trips to the Labour History Archive at the People’s History Museum, in Manchester. My MA dissertation is on the Labour Party’s foreign policy towards Nazi Germany, 1936-1939. While the road to the Second World War, and the Third Reich, are saturated … Continue reading Beth Fisher (York) on the Labour Party’s foreign policy towards Nazi Germany, 1936-1939

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Sam Pallis (Queen Mary/UCL) on 1968 as a turning point for British Trotskyism

My dissertation explores how 1968 transformed the nature of Trotskyism within the Labour Party (LP). Before 1968, Trotskyist groups within the Party had primarily pursued a workerist notion of Marxism, relegating race and women’s liberation as subsidiary to the class struggle. Alongside this they viewed Lenin’s notion of the vanguard party, run by a tight group of cadres, as the only means by which to … Continue reading Sam Pallis (Queen Mary/UCL) on 1968 as a turning point for British Trotskyism

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