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Four Nations Approaches to Modern 'British' History

A (Dis)United Kingdom?

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

  • Provides the first four nations history for the modern period in over twenty years

  • Covers a range of political, social, economic, cultural, intellectual history over a period of two centuries

  • Demonstrates the relevance of a four nations framework in the study, and understandings of, modern British history

  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

This collection brings together leading and emerging scholars to evaluate the viability of four nations approaches to the history of the United Kingdom from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It recognises the separate histories of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and explores the extent to which they share a common, ‘British’ history. They are entwined, with the points at which they interweave and detach dependent upon the nature of our inquiry, where we locate our ‘core’ and our ‘periphery’, and the ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ of our subject.


The collection demonstrates that four nations frameworks are relevant to a variety of topics and tests the limits of the methodology. The chapters illuminate the changing shape of modern British history writing, and provide fresh perspectives on subjects ranging from state governance, nationalism and Unionism, economics, cultural identities and social networking.

Reviews

“In this timely edited collection, Naomi Lloyd-Jones, Margaret M. Scull and their contributors vividly convey the complexity of the entity known as Britain. Focusing on the modern era, they depict the distinct but interrelated nature of its different national components. An essential read both for historians and all those who wish to trace the roots of post-devolution Britain.” (Andrew Blick, King’s College London, UK)

“This innovative collection brings vital new perspectives to a range of debates within 'Four Nations'  history whilst reengaging with the challenging issues raised by the 'new British history'. The work of its contributors sum up to a compelling reflection on historical relations within and across these islands.” (Richard Bourke, Queen Mary University of London, UK)

“The editors’ introduction makes the case for re-invigorating a ‘four-nations’ approach to the history of these islands over the past three centuries in terms of what we might gain by turning the destabilising and thought-provoking potential of comparative history inward upon the islands’ peoples – peoples who of course also interacted, sometimes with immediately disruptive effects upon each other’s narratives and practices. The uniformly thoughtful and engaging chapters that follow reflect upon and illustrate some of the manifold ways in which this agenda might be pursued. Though pointing up potential problems, insofar as neither ‘nations’ nor the archipelago are always ideal units of analysis, the contributors develop a variety of strategies to circumvent these constraints and to reveal the agenda’s rich potential.” (Joanna Innes, University of Oxford, UK)

Editors and Affiliations

  • King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Naomi Lloyd-Jones, Margaret M. Scull

About the editors

Naomi Lloyd-Jones researches responses to Irish Home Rule in Britain.


Margaret M. Scull writes on the Catholic Church during the Northern Irish Troubles.


They are both based at King's College London, UK, and are co-founders of the Four Nations History Network.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Four Nations Approaches to Modern 'British' History

  • Book Subtitle: A (Dis)United Kingdom?

  • Editors: Naomi Lloyd-Jones, Margaret M. Scull

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60142-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-60141-4Published: 08 November 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-95881-8Published: 30 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-60142-1Published: 26 October 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 274

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: History of Britain and Ireland, Imperialism and Colonialism, Cultural History, Modern History, Political History

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