The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes

Nonfiction, History, British
Cover of the book The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes by Jonathan Rose, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jonathan Rose ISBN: 9780300148350
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Jonathan Rose
ISBN: 9780300148350
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
Which books did the British working classes read--and how did they read them? How did they respond to canonical authors, penny dreadfuls, classical music, school stories, Shakespeare, Marx, Hollywood movies, imperialist propaganda, the Bible, the BBC, the Bloomsbury Group? What was the quality of their classroom education? How did they educate themselves? What was their level of cultural literacy: how much did they know about politics, science, history, philosophy, poetry, and sexuality? Who were the proletarian intellectuals, and why did they pursue the life of the mind?

These intriguing questions, which until recently historians considered unanswerable, are addressed in this book. Using innovative research techniques and a vast range of unexpected sources, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes tracks the rise and decline of the British autodidact from the pre-industrial era to the twentieth century. It offers a new method for cultural historians--an "audience history" that recovers the responses of readers, students, theatergoers, filmgoers, and radio listeners. Jonathan Rose provides an intellectual history of people who were not expected to think for themselves, told from their perspective. He draws on workers’ memoirs, oral history, social surveys, opinion polls, school records, library registers, and newspapers. Through its novel and challenging approach to literary history, the book gains access to politics, ideology, popular culture, and social relationships across two centuries of British working-class experience.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Which books did the British working classes read--and how did they read them? How did they respond to canonical authors, penny dreadfuls, classical music, school stories, Shakespeare, Marx, Hollywood movies, imperialist propaganda, the Bible, the BBC, the Bloomsbury Group? What was the quality of their classroom education? How did they educate themselves? What was their level of cultural literacy: how much did they know about politics, science, history, philosophy, poetry, and sexuality? Who were the proletarian intellectuals, and why did they pursue the life of the mind?

These intriguing questions, which until recently historians considered unanswerable, are addressed in this book. Using innovative research techniques and a vast range of unexpected sources, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes tracks the rise and decline of the British autodidact from the pre-industrial era to the twentieth century. It offers a new method for cultural historians--an "audience history" that recovers the responses of readers, students, theatergoers, filmgoers, and radio listeners. Jonathan Rose provides an intellectual history of people who were not expected to think for themselves, told from their perspective. He draws on workers’ memoirs, oral history, social surveys, opinion polls, school records, library registers, and newspapers. Through its novel and challenging approach to literary history, the book gains access to politics, ideology, popular culture, and social relationships across two centuries of British working-class experience.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book Mapping the Heavens by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book The Concrete Body by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Jack the Ripper and the London Press by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book The Lost World of Byzantium by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book The Good and Evil Serpent: How a Universal Symbol Became Christianized by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Abraham's Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Philosophy of Dreams by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book The International Novel by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Red Flags by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book A Little History of Economics by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book American Judaism by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden? by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Tchaikovsky Papers by Jonathan Rose
Cover of the book Why Conservation Is Failing and How It Can Regain Ground by Jonathan Rose
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy