E. P. Thompson

Critical Perspectives

Edited by Harvey J. Kaye, and Keith McClelland
Book Cover

PB: $32.95
EAN: 978-0-87722-742-7
Publication: May 90

HC: $44.95
EAN: 978-0-87722-730-4
Publication: May 90

350 pages


A wide range of authors discuss the historical, theoretical, and political problems that have been central to Thompson's work

Description

For over thirty years, the work of E. P. Thompson as historian, socialist, and peace activist has been enormously influential. Yet attempts to assess the impact of his work as a whole have been rare. This book brings together a wide range of authors who, in original essays, discuss the historical, theoretical, and political problems that have been central to Thompson’s work. The contributors assess the limits and achievements of his writings, and add to the discussion of issues that remain important for both intellectual and political work.

Table of Contents

Preface – Harvey J. Kaye and Keith McClelland
List of Contributors
Introduction – Keith McClelland
1. Edward Thompson, Social History and Political Culture: The Making of a Working-class Public, 1780-1850 – Geoff Eley
2. How Classes Are Made: Critical Reflections on E. P. Thompson’s Theory of Working-Class Formation – William H. SewelI, Jr.
3. The Tale of Samuel and Jemima: Gender and Working-Class Culture in Early Nineteenth-Century England – Catherine Hall
4. Celebrating Thompson’s Heroes: Social Analysis in History and Anthropology – Renato Rosoldo
5. Falling Through the Cracks: E. P. Thompson and the Debate on the Base and Superstructure – Ellen Meiksins Wood
6. History, Marxism and Theory – Robert Gray
7. E. P. Thompson and 'the Significance of Literature' – John Goode
8. Socialist Humanism – Kate Soper
9. From Total War to Democratic Peace: Exterminism and Historical Pacificism – Martin Shaw
10. E. P. Thompson, the British Marxist Historical Tradition and the Contemporary Crisis – Harvey J. Kaye
Index

About the Author(s)

Harvey J. Kaye is Professor and Chair of Social Change and Development at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Keith McClelland is Lecturer in History at the University of Reading, UK.