The Age of Asa

Asa Briggs has been a prominent figure in post-war cultural life - as a pioneering historian, a far-sighted educational reformer, and a sensitive chronicler of the way in which broadcasting and communication more generally have shaped modern society. He has also been a devoted servant of the public good, involved in many inquiries, boards and trusts. Yet few accounts of public life in Britain since the Second World War include a discussion or appreciation of his influential role. This collection of essays provides the first critical assessment of Asa Briggs' career, using fresh research and new perspectives to analyse his contribution and impact on scholarship, the expansion of higher education at home and overseas, and his support and leadership for the arts and media more generally. The online bibliography of Asa Briggs' publications which accompanies the book is available on the The Institute of Historical Research website here.

Autorentext
Jennifer Aston, University of Oxford, UK Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University, Australia David Cannadine, Princeton University, USA Francesca Carnevali, University of Birmingham, UK Malcolm Chase, University of Leeds, UK Matthew Cragoe, University of Sussex, UK Martin Hewitt, University of Huddersfield, UK John McIlroy, Middlesex University, UK Rohan McWilliam, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Siân Nicholas, Aberystwyth University, UK James Raven, University of Essex, UK Jean Seaton, University of Westminster, UK and is the Official Historian of the BBC, UK James Thompson, University of Bristol, UK Daniel Weinbren, The Open University, UK

Inhalt
Preface; David Cannadine Introduction: Asa Briggs and Public Life in Britain Since 1945; Miles Taylor PART I: HISTORY 1. The Interconnectedness of Things: Asa Briggs and Social History; Rohan McWilliam 2. A Little Bit of a Victorian? Asa Briggs and Victorian Studies; Martin Hewitt 3. Victorian Capitalists and Middle-Class Formation: Reflections on Asa Briggs' Birmingham; Francesca Carnevali and Jennifer Aston 4. Asa Briggs and the Remaking of Australian historiography; Frank Bongiorno 5. Asa Briggs and the Emergence of Labour History in Post-War Britain; John McIlroy PART II: BROADCASTING 6. From the Daily Mail to the BBC: Communications in Britain, c. 1896-1922; James Thompson 7. Broadcasting Carries On !: Asa Briggs and the History of the Wartime BBC; Sian Nicholas 8. Asa and the Epochs: the BBC, the Historian, the Institution and the Archive; Jean Seaton PART III: UNIVERSITIES 9. Back to Yorkshire: 'Asia' Briggs at Leeds, 1955-1961; Malcolm Chase 10. Asa Briggs and the University of Sussex, 1961-1976; Matthew Cragoe 11. Asa Briggs and the Opening up of the Open University; Daniel Weinbren 12. From Worcester to Longmans: Devising the History of the Book; James Raven