The histories of Raphael Samuel : a portrait of a people's historian / Sophie Scott-Brown.

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.

The ingrained activist: communism as a way of life, the communist party historian's group and Oxford student politics -- Reinventing the organiser: anti-authoritarianism, activist politics and the first New Left -- The workshop historian: Ruskin College and the early years of the History Workshop -- The secret life of Headington Quarry: people's history in the field -- The socialist historian? -- Stranger memories of who we really are: history, the nation and the historian.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-265).

Print version record.

English.

Open Access EbpS

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