In he Name o Unions and Na ion.
The De elopmen o Welsh
Labou His o iog aphy
in he 1950s— 1990s
jakub S řelec
KEYWORDS:
Labou His o y— Welsh His o y— His o iog aphy— New Social His o y
This pape aims o explo e he eme gence o Welsh labou his o iog aphy in he pe-
iod a e he Second Wo ld Wa and o examine he pos mode n challenges aced by
Welsh labou his o iog aphy since he 1980s. In his ex , I ega d ‘labou his o y’ as
adiscipline o social his o y ha ocuses mainly on he wo king class o classes and
hei ela ion o o he social g oups and poli ics.1 ‘Welsh labou his o y’, howe e , is
ea ed as an independen b anch o labou his o y ha is in e es ed in he Welsh
coun y and pa icula ly in he his o y o mining egions and unions.2
This pape se s he de elopmen o Welsh labou his o iog aphy in o he b oade
con ex o social his o y. Asigni ican pa o his analysis consis s in acompa ison
be ween he wo ks o Welsh labou his o ians and hei B i ish colleagues. Apa
om his desc ip i e aim, his pape aises mo e analy ical ques ions, such as: how
did Welsh labou his o ians espond o he ‘new social his o y’ ep esen ed by he
B i ish Ma xis s? To wha ex en was Welsh labou his o iog aphy in luenced by he
eme gence o pos mode nism and how did i mee hose challenges? To answe hese
ques ions, he i s pa o his pape concen a es on acompa ison be ween he wo k
“The Rebecca Rio s” by Welsh labou his o ian Da id Williams, which ocuses on u al
ebellions in nine een h-cen u y Wales, and he books “P imi i e Rebels” and “The
C owd in His o y” by B i ish Ma xis s E ic Hobsbawm and Geo ge Rudé. Fu he -
mo e, he pape deals wi h he ounda ion o he Welsh labou his o y jou nal ‘Lla u ’
in 1970. A he end o he i s pa , he pape discusses he book “The Fed’”(1980) by
Hywel F ancis and Da id Smi h, which s udies he bigges Welsh mining ade-union
o ganiza ion. The second pa o his pape examines he way in he Welsh labou
pa adigm, ep esen ed o ins ance by he book “The Fed”, deal wi h he linguis ic
and cul u al changes p opaga ed by pos mode nism. Finally, Ia gue ha some as-
pec s o Welsh labou his o y me i u he de elopmen , bu also ha he eme ging
1 Ki k Ne ille, Challenges, C isis and Renewal? Themes in he Labou His o y o B i ain
1960–2010, Labou His o y Re iew, 75/2, 2010, p.163.
2 The ques ion o Welsh iden i y was discussed by Gwyn Williams. Fo mo e de ails see:
Gwyn Williams, ‘When Was Wales?’ AHis o y o he Welsh, London 1979.
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jakub S řELEc 63
pos mode n iews and ideas would ha e been a alid con ibu ion o he conse a i e
pa adigm o Welsh labou his o iog aphy.
AWELSH RESPONSE TO BRITISH MARXISTS?
WELSH LABOUR HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE 1950S— 1980S
A e he Second Wo ld Wa , he B i ish go e nmen ’s o e iding conce n was he es-
ablishmen o awel a e s a e. This led o se e al social and poli ical de elopmen s,
such as he na ionaliza ion o mines, he ounda ion o he NHS, and he inc easing
in luence o ade unions. Fu he mo e, Keynes’ economic policy ga ne ed inc eas-
ing suppo om poli icians and Ma xism became mo e and mo e popula amongs
schola s. This shi in policy was no only ypical o he Uni ed Kingdom bu also o
mos Eu opean coun ies. Mo eo e , hese changes in he B i ish social and poli ical
en i onmen c ea ed ademand, which labou his o y was able o mee . A he begin-
ning o he 1960s new uni e si ies we e ounded in he Uni ed Kingdom ha o e ed
plen y o oppo uni ies o young his o ians. Welsh his o ian Andy C oll desc ibed
his pe iod as ollows: ‘I was an exci ing ime, in which o be alabou his o ian.’3 This
inspi ing en i onmen p oduced many impo an wo ks o Welsh and B i ish labou
his o iog aphy.
Da id Williams, aWelsh his o ian a Abe ys wy h Uni e si y, published his book
“The Rebecca Rio s” (1955) ou yea s be o e Hobsbawm’s “P imi i e Rebels”. He was
in e es ed in he u al io s known as “Rebecca io s” ha e up ed be ween he yea s
1839 and 1843 in Wes Wales (in he coun ies o Pemb okeshi e, Ca diganshi e and
Ca ma henshi e). The p o es e s we e poo a me s who did no ag ee wi h he ax
policy o he s a e and in pa icula , wi h he oll-ga es sys em. The oads in Wales
we e adminis e ed by special us s which collec ed money o hei main enance.
The e o e, he oll-ga es became a a ge o p o es e s o whom hey embodied he
un ai axa ion o he s a e. To he a me s he oll-ga es ep esen ed amajo inan-
cial bu den, because hey always had o pay when, o ins ance, hey wen o sell
hei goods in he ma ke . The p o es ing g oups, who a acked he oll-ga es, called
hemsel es “Rebecca’s Daugh e s”. The o igin o hei name is said o be a e se in he
Bible.4 A he beginning o he io s, he a acks on he oll-ga es ook place du ing
he nigh , wi h men d essed up like women and be o e des oying aga e he leade
o he g oup, ep esen ing Rebecca, app oached he ga e and asked in Welsh “My
child en, his ga e has no business o be he e, has i ?”5 The c owd esponded and wen
o des oy he oll-ga e. Soon, he Rebecca io s became pa o Welsh olklo e. In
3 Andy C oll, ‘People’s Rememb ance s’ in aPos -Mode n Age: Con empla ing he Non-C i-
sis o Welsh Labou His o y, Lla ou : he Jou nal o he Socie y o he S udy o Welsh La-
bou His o y, 8/1, 2000, p.6.
4 “And hey blessed Rebekah and said un o he , Thou a ou sis e , be hou he mo he o
housands o millions, and le hy seed possess he ga e o hose which ha e hem’!” On-
line: h p://biblehub.com/genesis/24-60.h m (30.9.2017)
5 Da id Williams, The Rebecca Rio s, Ca di 1986, p.191.
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64 WISOHIM/ESHP 26
Wales, he e was a e y s ong noncon o mis adi ion and Rebecca and he daugh-
e s we e, o many Welshmen, acha ac e is ic exp ession o hei cul u e.
Da id Williams s uc u es his book as ollows: Fi s , he concen a es on an analy-
sis o he local s a e adminis a ion and he gen y, hen he ocuses on he social s uc-
u e o u al socie y and on he local economy. In his book, Da id Williams s esses
ha mos o he his o ical accoun s in e p e ed he Rebecca io s only because o an
un ai axa ion sys em and he high olls. Howe e , Williams a gues ha he oo s o
he io s a e a he mo e deeply mani es ed in he change o u al socie y. His a gu-
men is based on wo majo phenomena ha occu ed in he nine een h cen u y in
Wales: he apid g ow h o popula ion and he c ea ion o public opinion. Acco ding
o Williams, he socie y in he wes e n pa s o Wales, whe e he io s ook place,
was isola ed, unde de eloped and dependen on ag icul u al means o p oduc ion.
The e o e, he io s should no be in e p e ed as an up ising o u al p ole a ians bu
a he as a ebellion o ‘small a me s’. Addi ionally, he poin s ou ha he egions
whe e he io s s a ed, expe ienced eno mous popula ion g ow h a he beginning
o he nine een h cen u y. Hence, he eason o he e up ion o he io s lies exac ly
in he combina ion o an unde de eloped economy ha did no p oduce su icien
e enues and he apid inc ease in popula ion. Williams summa ises his hough s:
‘The ea ly nine een h cen u y saw ab eakdown in he social s uc u e o u al Wales,
wi h i s ou moded sys ems o go e nmen and adminis a ion, when he p essu e o
ag ea ly inc eased popula ion upon abackwa d economy p oduced dis u bances.‘6
Apa om he analysis o he social and economic s uc u e, Williams was in e -
es ed in he analysis o he g owing public opinion. He assumed ha he io ing a m-
e s we e no illi e a e. Acco ding o him, he c ea ion o nega i e public opinions in
newspape s had an in luence on he unsa is ied a me s who la e became io ing
g oups.7 Finally, he s essed he isola ed geog aphical posi ion o he wes e n pa s
o Wales. Tha is why he g ow h o popula ion could no be compensa ed by he u -
banisa ion. He assumed ha i he ailway eached hese emo e egions o Wales
en yea s ea lie , he io s would maybe no ha e happened a all.8 Wi h his book,
Williams in oduced he ebellions in he emo e Welsh egions and he ans o ma-
ion o u al socie ies in o indus ial socie ies as anew opic in Welsh labou his o i-
og aphy, and hus b oke wi h he adi ion o ocusing on he his o y o he mining
egions and unions. Mo eo e , Williams was less ‘ma e ialis ic’ in his explana ions
and a he examined he in luence o public opinion.
In he 1960s, an in luen ial g oup o B i ish Ma xis his o ians ep esen ed by
E ic Hobsbawm and Geo ge Rudé eme ged in B i ain.9 These so-called ‘new social
his o ians’ sough o e ise he w i ing o he ‘ o al’ social his o y o he wo king
6 Da id Williams, The Rebecca Rio s, Ca di 1986, p. iii.
7 Ibidem, p.118.
8 Ibidem, p.158.
9 B i ish Ma xis his o ians we e ep esen ed by mo e schola s such as Edwa d P.Thomp-
son, howe e , Iam in e es ed in he wo ks o Rudé and Hobsbawm who ocus in hei
books on he same opics as Da id Williams. The compa ison is hen mo e accu a e.
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jakub S řELEc 65
class.10 In 1959, E ic Hobsbawm’s pionee ing wo k “P imi i e ebels” was published,
in which he ocuses on a a ie y o ebellions, con lic s and s uggles in he u al
pa s o nine een h and wen ie h-cen u y Eu ope.11 E ic Hobsbawm was in e es ed
in he ‘p imi i e’ o ‘a chaic’ o ms o social agi a ion, such as he “bandi y o he
Robin Hood ype, u al sec e socie ies, a ious peasan e olu iona y mo emen s o
he millena ian so , p e-indus ial u ban mobs and hei io s, some labou eligious
sec s and he use o i ual in ea ly labou and e olu iona y o ganiza ions.”12 By using
he e ms ‘p imi i e;’ o ‘a chaic’ he e e s o people whose iden i ies we e s ill based
on ibal bonds. Acco ding o Hobsbawm, he his o y o social mo emen s can be di-
ided in o wo main b anches: he i s one is in e es ed in he ancien sla e e ol s
and p e-indus ial e a io s which we e mainly in e p e ed as isola ed and unimpo -
an episodes in his o y. The second b anch is ocused on he mode n social mo e-
men s which a e in e p e ed wi hin he amewo k o he socialis na a i e, and is
he e o e in e es ed in he his o y o Luddism, Jacobinism o U opian Socialism.13
Howe e , he aim o Hobsbawm’s book was di e en : his goal was o ocus on g oups
o people who did no i in o ei he o hese ca ego ies. Hobsbawm concen a es on
anonymous people who we e mos ly illi e a e and unknown. He de ines hem as ‘p e-
poli ical’ pe sons because hey we e no able o use poli ical language o exp ess hei
demands. This is he eason why hei mo emen s we e no well o ganized, ma ginal,
and igno ed by schola s.
In addi ion o Hobsbawm’s “P imi i e Rebels”, o he in luen ial wo k o B i ish
Ma xis s was “The C owd in His o y” w i en by Geo ge Rudé (1964). As he i le
indica es, Geo ge Rudé’s wo k ocuses on he his o y o ac owd ha he de ines as
a‘ ace- o- ace’ o ‘di ec con ac ’ g oup.14 Howe e , in his esea ch he did no include
all ypes o people’s ga he ings. Rudé delibe a ely excluded he ollowing g oups
om his s udy: c owds mee ing pu ely on ce emonial occasions, c owds a ending
an academic o eligious e en , c owds a spo s s adiums, and any kind o c owds
o ganized o apoli ical pu pose.15 The inno a i e po en ial o Rudé’s s udy lies in his
app oach. Acco ding o him, labou his o ians so a ha e been igno ing he ole o
c owds in his o y o desc ibing hem as an ‘ang y mob’ wi hou pu pose o mean-
ing. This is why he d ew inspi a ion om Ame ican sociologis s who we e al eady
in e es ed in acial mino i ies and io s. Rudé did no examine c owds as an abs ac
and i ele an phenomenon bu a he ocused on he goals, beha iou and i uals o
10 Andy C oll, ‘People’s Rememb ance s in aPos -Mode n Age: Con empla ing he Non-C i-
sis o Welsh Labou His o y, Lla ou : he Jou nal o he Socie y o he S udy o Welsh La-
bou His o y, 8/1, 2000, p.6.
11 E ic Hobsbawm, P imi i e Rebels. S udies in A chaic Fo ms o Social Mo emen in he 19 h
and 20 h Cen u ies, Manches e 1959.
12 Ibidem, p.1.
13 E ic Hobsbawm, P imi i e Rebels. S udies in A chaic Fo ms o Social Mo emen in he 19 h
and 20 h Cen u ies, Manches e 1959, p.2.
14 Ge oge Rudé, The C owd in His o y. AS udy o Popula Dis u bances in F ance and Eng-
land, 1730–1840, London 1985, p.1.
15 Ibidem, p.4.
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66 WISOHIM/ESHP 26
c owds.16 The e o e, he asks he ollowing ques ions in his esea ch: “How la ge was
he c owd, how did i ac , who (i any) we e i s p omo e s, who composed i , and who
led i ? Who we e he a ge s o he ic ims o he c owd’s ac i i ies? Wha we e he
aims, mo i es, and ideas unde lying hese ac i i ies? Wha we e he consequences o
he e en , and wha has been i s his o ical signi icance?”17
As al eady indica ed in he las pa ag aphs, he e a e some di e ences be ween
he books “The Rebecca Rio s” by Da id Williams and “P imi i e Rebels” by E ic
Hobsbawm. Fo one, he Rebecca p o es e s we e no simila o he ou laws in “P imi-
i e Rebels”. Al hough Hobsbawm and Williams bo h ocus on how people s uggled
wi h he ans o ma ion o hei socie y unde he wa e o mode niza ion, hey di e
in hei esea ch on objec s which a e om di e en social g oups. The p o agonis s
o “The Rebecca Rio s” we e small a me s and landowne s, which was no he case
o Hobsbawm’s “P imi i e Rebels”. F om he me hodological poin o iew, he e a e
some di e ences as well. Williams’ a gumen was mainly based on an analysis o he
social and economic s uc u es o Wes Wales. Hobsbawm, howe e , was mo e in-
e es ed in he de elopmen o he concep o ‘social bandi y’ and i s di e en ypes
(e.g. he Ma ia). Mo eo e , Hobsbawm examined he ole o i uals in he social mo e-
men s ha he s udied.18 By con as , Williams’ s udy on Rebecca’s Daugh e s lacks an
analysis o he i uals and ‘ca ni al- ime’ beha iou , al hough i seems easonable o
include i due o he uncommon na u e o he io s. Addi ionally, Hobsbawm based
his book on acompa ison be ween di e en egions and pe iods, which was ypical
o he B i ish ‘new social his o y’.
In one chap e o “The C owd in His o y” Rudé e en looks a he Rebecca io s.
Fo he pu poses o compa ison wi h Williams, Rudé highligh s di e en aspec s o
he io s: Fi s ly, he a gues ha he c ucial ole in he Rebecca io s was played by
noncon o mis ideas. He a gues ha he noncon o mis adi ion was e y in luen ial
in he Rebecca mo emen because i exp essed “ he deep malaise o he a ming and
labou ing popula ion”.19 Secondly, Rudé de o es asigni ican pa o his ex o an
analysis o he beha iou o he mob, i s i uals, and easons o i s success o ailu e.
This app oach, based on an examina ion o he cul u al aspec s o io ing, was he
main di e ence be ween Williams’ and Rudé’s wo ks on he Rebecca io s. As Iha e
poin ed ou , he s a ing poin o William’s analysis was an examina ion o he social
and economic s uc u es, al hough, he did no go as a as o analyse he io s,
A he beginning o he 1970s, Welsh labou his o ians had enough sel -con idence
and decided o es ablish ‘Socie y o he S udy o Welsh Labou His o y’.20 Twen y
yea s a e he ounda ion o he B i ish academic jou nal ‘Pas and P esen ’, in he
16 Ibidem, p.9.
17 Ibidem, p.11.
18 E ic Hobsbawm, P imi i e Rebels. S udies in A chaic Fo ms o Social Mo emen in he 19 h
and 20 h Cen u ies, New Yo k 1965, pp.150–175.
19 Ge oge Rudé, The C owd in His o y. AS udy o Popula Dis u bances in F ance and Eng-
land, 1730–1840, London 1985, p.156.
20 Neil E ans and Coleg Ha lech, W i ing he Social His o y o Wales?, Social His o y, 17/3,
1992, pp.481–482.
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jakub S řELEc 67
yea 1972, he Socie y published he i s issue o he new Welsh labou jou nal ‘Lla-
u ’ (Labou ), which included ‘The Chai man’s Add ess’ w i en by Ieuan Gwynedd
Jones ha summa ises he main aims o he jou nal.21 Acco ding o him, he gen-
e al aims o he jou nal we e “ o nou ish and sus ain he s udy o Labou His o y in
Wales” and “ o encou age he p ese a ion o hose his o ical sou ces wi hou which
such as udy would be a wo s impossible and a bes emascula ed and hin.”22 I is
ema kable how he Socie y p oceeded o ul il hese asks. The goal was o c ea e
ajou nal ha would se e as adiscussion o um whe e in o ma ion and ideas could
be exchanged. The ounde s o he jou nal s essed ha ‘Lla u ’ should be a ailable
no only o expe s bu also o a a ie y o people ( om s uden s and local his o y
socie ies o ade-union g oups). In he in oduc ion, Ieuan G.Jones emphasizes his
idea: “The e a e whole a eas o communi y expe ience abou which he academic his-
o ian, com o ably cocooned and p o ec ed wi hin his p o ession, can know no hing.
In-dep h s udies o he pas o his coun y can only succeed as acoope a i e e o
in ol ing he enligh ened ama eu as well as he ained academic.”23 Fu he mo e,
he ex emphasizes he in ol emen o he communi y wi h his o ical esea ch:
“This kind o c ea i e coope a ion has always been an essen ial and ypical ing edien
in he cul u e o Wales.”24 The goal was o e-es ablish aWelsh labou his o y based
on he s ong ela ionship be ween he academic and non-academic sphe e. In his
concep , he Welsh labou his o ians we e iewed as ‘public se an s’ whose main
goal was o p ese e and de elop Welsh cul u e. Thus, Welsh labou his o iog aphy
held an impo an posi ion wi hin he Welsh mas e na a i e. Howe e , one aspec
o his concep is ques ionable. Should Welsh labou his o ians ‘nou ish’, ‘p ese e’
o ‘encou age’ Welsh cul u e, o was he e also enough space o amo e c i ical s and
ha would challenge he na ional na a i e?
The concep o Welsh labou his o y, in oduced in ‘Lla u ’, did no eme ge sud-
denly bu con inued in he s ong Welsh adi ion emphasizing he impo ance o he
communi y. This adi ion was mainly based on he in luence o noncon o mi y in
Welsh socie y om he eigh een h o he wen ie h cen u y. The close links be ween
he academic communi y and he non-p o essionals we e one o he p incipal as-
pec s o he Welsh labou his o iog aphy. Mo eo e , his legacy o he ounde s has
con inued o his day. Al hough he jou nal has been enamed ‘Lla u , he Jou nal o
Welsh People’s His o y’ he aims ha e emained simila : o p omo e he his o y o he
common people wi h open membe ship o e e yone.25
The ideas pu o wa d in ‘Lla u ’ shaped he u he de elopmen o he Welsh
labou his o y. Fo ins ance, his in luence can also be iden i ied in he book “The Fed”
(1980) by Hywel F ancis and Da id Smi h, which summa izes he his o y o he big-
ges Welsh mining union, The Sou h Wales Mine s Fede a ion’ (known as ‘The Fed’).
F ancis and Smi h claimed ha hei book will mainly se e non-academic pu poses:
21 Lla u he Jou nal o he Socie y o he S udy o Welsh Labou His o y, p.2.
22 Ibidem, p.2.
23 Ibidem, p.2.
24 Lla u he Jou nal o he Socie y o he S udy o Welsh Labou His o y, p.2.
25 Online: h ps://www.lla u .o g/abou -us/ (03.10.2017).
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68 WISOHIM/ESHP 26
“We would like o hink ha his his o y, […], will s and as a eco d o s uggle ha
may ac as alink o hose younge membe s and hei amilies wi h hei own pas .”26
Ano he in en ion o hei book was o p ese e he his o y o he union o u u e
gene a ions. Acco ding o he au ho s, he s uggles o ade unions we e he ‘g ea
c ea i e ac s o wo king people’.27 In he in oduc ion, he au ho s also decla e ha
hey wan o w i e ‘a ade union his o y’ abou ‘ he p incipal ins i u ions used and
de ised by he Sou h Wales mine s wi hin, and o , hei socie y’.28 Thus, he au ho s
con inued he long-s anding adi ion o he Welsh labou his o iog aphy co e ing
he his o y o he ade unions. Acco ding o F ancis and Smi h, o w i e abou he
union was he same as o w i e abou Welsh socie y: “[…] ou chosen union was, as
we show, in ima ely associa ed wi h i s socie y so ha o w i e ahis o y o he one
wi hou he o he would be o di o ce Adam om E e by academic dec ee.”29 As we
can see, he au ho s a gue ha labou his o y should mainly be ega ded as he his-
o y o ade unionism which— sligh ly exagge a ed— was also o hem ahis o y o
he (whole) socie y. Howe e , F ancis and Smi h only use he e m ‘people’ o e e o
membe s o he union. This is he disad an age o hei app oach. F ancis and Smi h
a e only in e es ed in he ade unions, and he eby exclude a a ie y o expe iences
o wo king class people, be i in amily li e o leisu e ime.
In he book “The Fed” by F ancis and Smi h we can see all he main aspec s o he
Welsh labou his o iog aphy: he connec ion be ween he academic and lay milieu as
well as he ocus on he his o y o he (mining) union o ganiza ion and i s s uggles.
One inno a i e aspec o F ancis and Smi h’s app oach o he Welsh ade union his-
o y is hei ocus on he ole o he ank-and- ile membe s and hei expe iences
a he han on leade ship o bu eauc acy. Mo eo e , F ancis and Smi h, who we e
inspi ed by he ‘his o y om below’, had close links o he Fede a ion. This explains
why he book was published by his union. Poli ical engagemen o he Welsh labou
his o ians was no unusual. Howe e , i emains unclea whe he he publica ion o
his book was no also he ‘swan song’ o he Welsh labou his o iog aphy adi ion.
O e he nex decades, he unions los mos o hei powe due o he e o ms ca ied
ou by he Tha che go e nmen . Bo h, Welsh and B i ish labou his o y, we e in he
shadow o he cul u al and linguis u n. Asecond edi ion o he book “The Fed” om
1998, in which he au ho s ei e a e mos o hei o iginal a gumen s, clea ly dem-
ons a es ha he me hodological basis o he Welsh labou his o iog aphy is a he
conse a i e and esis an o changes.
To sum up he main ideas o his chap e : The de elopmen o he Welsh labou
his o iog aphy in he second hal o he wen ie h cen u y was a he linea and
g adual. On he o he hand, Welsh his o ians we e no comple ely isola ed om he
me hodological de elopmen o he labou his o y. The Welsh labou his o iog aphy
26 Hywel F ancis and Da id Smi h. The Fed: The His o y o Sou h Wales Mine s in he Twen-
ie h Cen u y, Ca di 1980, x .
27 Ibidem, x .
28 Ibidem, x .
29 Hywel F ancis and Da id Smi h. The Fed: The His o y o Sou h Wales Mine s in he Twen-
ie h Cen u y, Ca di 1980, x i.
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jakub S řELEc 69
eac ed o he pa adigma ic change om classic social his o y o a‘new social his-
o y’ wi hin he amewo k o i s adi ion. The wo k o Da id Williams, “The Rebecca
Rio s”, was inno a i e in many ega ds; howe e , he compa ison be ween he wo ks
o Welsh and B i ish labou his o ians showed ha he Welsh labou his o ians o -
en lacked b oade pe spec i es, me hodological cla i y and in e es in he cul u al
aspec s o he wo king class. The labou his o y o Wales was gaining in popula i y
du ing he 1970s and 1980s which led o he ounda ion o he Welsh labou his o y
jou nal ‘Lla u ’. In my opinion, he me hodological concep in oduced in his jou nal
was aspeci ic eac ion o he Welsh labou his o iog aphy o he pa adigm shi o
a‘new social his o y’. The jou nal no only emphasized ha he Welsh labou his o y
should b ing oge he he academic and non-academic sphe es, bu also ha i should
s i e o p ese e he Welsh cul u e h ough he publica ion o his o ical wo ks and
h ough he ac i i ies o his o ians in hei communi ies. In 1980, Hywel F ancis and
Da id Smi h published hei book “The Fed” which combines all hese aspec s o he
Welsh labou his o iog aphy. In he 1980s, howe e , he unions we e ma ginalized
unde he Tha che go e nmen and labou his o y was labelled an ou da ed disci-
pline. The e o e, in he nex chap e , Iwill ocus on wha he Welsh labou his o iog-
aphy did o mee hose challenges.
WELSH LABOUR HISTORIOGRAPHY
IN UNCERTAIN TIMES OF POSTMODERNISM
His o iog aphy has unde gone anumbe o me hodological changes in he las hi d
o he wen ie h cen u y. His o ians s a ed o be in e es ed in new app oaches in-
spi ed by an h opology and linguis ics. As a esul o his de elopmen , his o ians be-
gan o wo k wi h new his o ical ca ego ies: Ins ead o solely ocusing on class o na-
ion, hey used concep s such as language, na a ion o ep esen a ion which became
he co e o his o ical esea ch. To a o d an insigh in o his de elopmen , in his sec-
ion Iwill b ie ly summa ize h ee ends which had he main impac on he w i ing
o his o y. The i s end, which became soon e y in luen ial, was in oduced in he
book “The In e p e a ion o Cul u e” by Ame ican an h opologis Cli o d Gee z.30
Gee z de eloped anew concep o cul u e in which he de ines cul u e as a‘web o
signi icance’ su ounding e e y human being.31 E e y ges u e o u e ance ca ies
also asymbolic con en ha exp esses he whole cul u e. To analyse hose exp es-
sions, he in en ed ame hod o ‘ hick desc ip ion’ ha should con on and unco e
meanings o analysed objec s. In he 1990s, his o ical an h opology in luenced by he
concep o cul u e de eloped by Gee z gained in popula i y among his o ians.32 I in-
oduced new opics such as he his o y o sexuali y, ebellions, wi chc a , and popu-
la cul u e, which a he same ime opened up new esea ch possibili ies. The second
30 Cli o d Gee z, The In e p e a ion o Cul u es: Selec ed Essays, New Yo k 1973.
31 Ibidem, p.89.
32 Fo mo e de ails see: Richa d on Dülmen, His o ische An h opologie. En wicklung, P ob-
leme, Au gaben, Köln 2000.
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70 WISOHIM/ESHP 26
end ha had amajo in luence was he publica ion o he wo k “Me ahis o y” w i -
en by Ame ican li e a y his o ian Hayden Whi e. In his book he a gues ha his o i-
cal ex s sha e simila i ies wi h he li e a y gen e a he han wi h scien i ic wo ks.33
In “Me ahis o y” Whi e analyses his o ical wo ks by in luen ial schola s (e.g. Toc-
que ille, Michele ) o show ha he w i ing o his o y is based on he s a egies and
ways o explana ions used in li e a y w i ing, li e a y opes (e.g. me apho , me on-
ymy) and li e a y gen e (e.g. omance, agedy). Thus, Whi e s esses he na a i e
cha ac e o his o y and a gues ha all his o ical accoun s ollow ace ain li e a y
mode o w i ing. The hi d, and las , impo an end ha had an in luence on his o-
iog aphy was he impac o linguis ics. The so-called ‘linguis ic u n’ was based on
he wo k “Cou se in Gene al Linguis ic” by F ench schola Fe dinand de Saussu e.34
In hese ealms, language was ea ed as ade e minan o human hough s and as
ac ea o o social eali y. In his o iog aphy, hose de elopmen s lead o ashi in e-
sea ch in e es . Fo ins ance, his o ians s a ed o ocus on he analysis o discou se
and he ole o language in people’s beha iou .
As aconsequence o he g owing popula i y o he cul u al and linguis ic ap-
p oaches, social and labou his o y we e acing ha d imes being pe cei ed as some-
hing old- ashioned and ou da ed. B i ish social his o ians we e discussing his new
posi ion o labou his o y. In an a icle om 1995, Pa ick Joyce clea ly desc ibed he
si ua ion: ‘B i ish labou his o y is now almos mo ibund.’35 The jou nal ‘Labou His-
o y Re iew’ om sp ing 1995 came o asimila conclusion, in which he au ho s em-
phasized ha labou his o y su e s om i s ins i u ional o ien a ion, eu ocen ism,
and heo e ical nai e y. This ‘Neande hal’, meaning labou his o y o ha ime, was
hen unde mined by he suppo e s o pos mode nism.36 In he a icle ‘Challenge,
C isis and Renewal?’, Labou his o ian Ne ille Ki k emphasizes ha he main p ob-
lem o labou his o y is i s ‘conse a i e insula i y’ and ‘academism’.37 Howe e , he
did no ag ee ha he B i ish labou his o y would no be able o enew i sel . Acco d-
ing o him, he B i ish labou his o y should combine i s ‘commi ed’ B i ish empi i-
cal adi ion wi h amo e ac i e engagemen wi h he new and mode n app oaches.38
Mo eo e , he s esses ha he B i ish labou his o y should be able o include in i s
esea ch mo e compa a i e and ansna ional pe spec i es. Geo Eley, ano he in lu-
en ial B i ish social his o ian, a gues ha he social his o y me hodology does no ex-
clude cul u al and linguis ic app oaches.39 On he con a y, he e is no need o choose
be ween he ‘social’ o ‘cul u al’ his o y because bo h disciplines can complemen
33 Hayden Whi e, Me ahis o y: The His o ical Imagina ion in Nine een h-Cen u y Eu ope,
Bal imo e 1973.
34 Fe dinand de Saussu e, Cou se in Gene al Linguis ics, 1916.
35 Pa ick Joyce, The End o Social His o y?, Social His o y, 20/1, 1995, p.76.
36 Labou His o y Re iew, 60/1, p.2.
37 Ne ille Ki k, Challenge, C isis and Renewal? Themes in he Labou His o y o B i ain,
1960–2010, Labou His o y Re iew, 75/2, 2010, p.163.
38 Ibidem, p.163.
39 Geo Eley, ‘Dilemmas and Challenges o Social His o y since he 1960s: Wha Comes a -
e he Cul u al Tu n?’, Sou h A ican His o ical Jou nal, 60/3, 2008, p.313.
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