Modern British History Reading Group
The Modern British History Reading Group offers discussions of Modern British History that are outward looking, interact with other perspectives and geographies, and apply new and different approaches to British history. We'll be holding a broad range of sessions that will hopefully appeal to many different researchers, students, and other interested parties, so come along for an informal chat about recent interesting books.
We are based in the History Department but welcome students and staff from any department, from Warwick or elsewhere, with an interest in reading Modern British History in a different light. We hold sessions both in person and on Teams and a full programme for the year can be found below. If there are any books you're especially interested in discussing drop us a line and we'll see if we can work it in.
---- 2024/2025 Programme tbc ----
2022/2023 Programme
Thursday 3rd November, 2022, 1-2pm, FAB1.07Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Becky Taylor, Refugees in Twentieth-Century Britain: A HistoryLink opens in a new window (2021), Introduction, pp. 1-28, Ch. 3 'Rivers of Blood: The Ugandan Asians', pp. 149-208, and Ch. 4 'Marketisation and Multiculturalism: Refugees from Vietnam', pp. 209-70.
Discussant: Dr Somak BiswasLink opens in a new window
Thursday 1st December, 2022, 1-2pm, FAB2.48Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
John Davis, Waterloo Sunrise: London From the Sixties to ThatcherLink opens in a new window (2022), Ch. 9 'The London Cabbie and the Rise of the Essex Man', pp. 246-62, and Ch. 16 'Becoming Postindustrial', pp. 407-34.
Discussant: Matthew BlissLink opens in a new window
Thursday 12th January, 2023, 1-2pm, OC1.07Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Kimberley Mair, The Biopolitics of Care in Second World War BritainLink opens in a new window (2022), 'Imperatives: A Preface', pp. vii-xx, Ch. 1 'Keeping Watch Over the Population', pp. 43-65, and Ch. 2 'Verminous Houseguests and Good Hosts: Evacuation Stories', pp. 67-108.
Discussant: Dr Andrew BurchellLink opens in a new window
Thursday 2nd February, 2023, 1-2pm, OC1.01Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller, Bad Gays: A Homosexual HistoryLink opens in a new window (2022), Introduction, pp. 1-18, and any chapter on a modern figure you like. For context Hannah has also suggested Heather Love, Feeling BackwardLink opens in a new window (2007), Ch. 1 'Emotional Rescue: The Demands of Queer History', pp. 31-52. Please read both texts!
Discussant: Hannah Ayres Link opens in a new window (comments from Hannah about these readings hereLink opens in a new window)
Thursday 9th March, 2023, 12-1pm, FAB3.28Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Reconsidering ReparationsLink opens in a new window (2022), Ch. 1 'Introduction', pp. 1-13, Ch. 2 'Reconsidering World History', pp. 14-68, and Ch. 6 'The Arc of the Moral Universe', pp. 191-208.
Discussant: Dr Sophie GreenwayLink opens in a new window
Thursday 4th May, 2023, 1-2pm, OC1.07Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Nadine El-Nenany, (B)ordering Britain: Law, Race and EmpireLink opens in a new window (2020), Introduction: 'Britain as the spoils of empire', pp. 1-16, and Ch. 4 'Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers: predictable arrivals', pp. 133-74.
Discussant: Dr Guido van MeersbergenLink opens in a new window
Thursday 1st June, 2023, 1-2pm, OC1.07Link opens in a new window & MS TeamsLink opens in a new window
Theo Williams, Making the Revolution Global: Black Radicalism and the British Socialist Movement Before Decolonisation (2022), chapters tbc.
Discussant: Dr Jack BowmanLink opens in a new window
Convenor: Dr Jack BowmanLink opens in a new window (History)
For any questions, queries, or suggestions, email:
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