This article discusses a new interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach to using data from the first British Birth Cohort Study, the National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD, 1946). It emerges from a collaboration between two historians of postwar Britain and a mixed-methods life course studies researcher. Our approach brings together…

In England, there are persistent associations between measures of socio-economic advantage and educational outcomes. Research on the history of names, meanwhile, confirms that surnames in England--like many other countries--were highly socially stratified in their origins. These facts prompted us to wonder whether educational outcomes in England…

The history of forced dispersal of immigrant children in England, which affected mostly non-Anglophone Asian pupils in areas such as Southall (West London) and Bradford (West Yorkshire) in the 1960s and 1970s has only very recently elicited the interest of historians. Mobilising archival material as well as interviews with formerly bussed pupils,…

Described by the author Monica Ali as a building that 'sparks the imagination and sparks conversations', 19 Princelet Street, now a Museum of Diversity and Immigration, captivated the imagination of teacher David Waters. He was struck by the building's potential not merely for exploring the diverse histories of migrant communities in London, but…

Background: This paper tells the story of Central England People First's (CEPF) History Project. Method: This was an inclusive research project, owned and controlled by members of CEPF which sought to chart its 21-year history, 1990-2012. Results: It illustrates both the strengths of such a project and some of the challenges. Conclusion: It…

The history of sex education enables us to gain valuable insights into the cultural constructions of what different societies have defined as 'normal' sexuality and sexual health. Yet, the history of sex education has only recently attracted the full attention of historians of modern sexuality. "Shaping Sexual Knowledge: A Cultural History of…

Muslim boys, once regarded as passive, hard working and law-abiding, have been recast in the public imagination in recent years. Now the stereotypical image is of volatile, aggressive hotheads who are in danger of being brainwashed into terrorism, or of would-be gangsters who are creating no-go areas in English towns and cities. This timely and…

The purpose of the essay is to demonstrate that study of quality of life can explore eras before our own. There are caches of social data as early as the seventeenth century, and there were people who attempted to formulate social circumstances close to today's concepts of quality of life. Data from England and Ireland are presented and analyzed.

Published in London between 1839 and 1852 and aligned with the commercial objectives of the New Zealand Company, the "New Zealand Journal" included letters from emigrants. This paper studies letters written by a small cohort of rural labourers who emigrated from Ham House in Surrey to Wellington in 1841. Following Dorothy Smith, I read…

The state of Marxist historiography in British studies is reviewed. In the cultural history of the 17th century revolutions and in the social and ideological history of labor, major monographs have appeared. (RM)

The monitorial system of education was the most promising device in the field of primary education at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its astonishing spread across the five continents represents one of the earliest processes of internationalization in the field of elementary schooling, which has rarely been analysed from the point of view…

Describes the life and work of John Howard, the great English prison reformer, who pioneered in exposing certain inequities of the English social system through his publications, his investigation of prison conditions first hand, and his appearances before Parliament. (CT)

Argues that the British industrial revolution was in no sense inevitable and scarcely deserves the term "revolution." Examined are the characteristics which the British shared with other Europeans and ways in which they were distinctive that enabled them to become the first industrial nation. (RM)

Describes limits placed on 17th century English women by law, scripture, and theories about their physical and mental characteristics. Quotations from scholarly essays and case studies of legal decisions illustrate unequal and unfair treatment of women. Journal available from Box 384, Sub Post Office No. 6, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N…

In this article, I examine a historical information graphic--Charles Booth's maps of London poverty (1889-1902)--to analyze the cultural basis of ideas of transparency and clarity in information graphics. I argue that Booth's maps derive their rhetorical power from contemporary visual culture as much as from their scientific authority. The visual…