JSTOR

The Histories of Raphael Samuel

Author

Scott-Brown, Sophie

Year

2017

Publisher

ANU Press

Type

BOOK

Category

Biography & Autobiography

Language

English

Pages

277

ISBN

978-1-76046-037-2

Link

Last Update

09-Sep-2024

Keywords

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Social Activists

Description

In the first integrated biographical study of his work, this book situates British historian Raphael Samuel (1934–1996) in relation to his distinctive form of activist politics as they developed from youthful Cold War communism to the first British New Left, 1960s radicalism to the 1980s history wars. As the catalyst behind the History Workshop movement, Samuel championed the democratisation of history-making and practised an eclectic form of people’s history in his own work. His unique approach was controversial, drawing impassioned responses from across the ideological spectrum, the most sustained critique often coming from his left-wing contemporaries. It is argued here that this compelling figure has been unjustly neglected and that he continues to offer important insights into the politics of history-making in a post-Marxist world.

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