Postgraduate Seminar Series
Next QMPGSS event:
Thursday, 1st March, 5pm , Arts Two, Room 3.20
The next history postgraduate seminar series event will be held on Thursday, 1st March, at 5pm in Arts Two 3.20. We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting
Dr Martin Cohen
to celebrate the launch of his new book, The Eclipse of 'Elegant Economy' (for a description of the book, see below). Dr Peter Catterall writes that "for anyone who wants to understand about the development of Britain's post-war consumer society, this is the book".
The event will be highly interactive, with Martin discussing the genesis of the book and the theories and history it explores, while inviting comment, questions and discussion throughout. Refreshments will be provided.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this special interactive session, and for a few drinks in the pub afterwards.
The Eclipse of 'Elegant Economy': The Impact of the Second World War on Attitudes to Personal Finance in Britain
Elizabeth Gaskell might have been amused to learn that the Victorian 'elegant economy' she mocked so poignantly in Cranford returned to vogue in the mid-twentieth century and endured the invasion of its precise antithesis, 'conspicuous consumption'. For Britons of all classes the years of austerity during and after the Second World War were years of disorientation and fears of resurgence of the worst of the interwar decades. They had never had more money or less material things on which to spend it. Many took refuge in the 'elegant economy' its creator dubbed 'a sort of sour-grapeism, which made us very peaceful and satisfied'. The constraints of rationing, production and import controls redirected the disbursement of personal finance to non-material things - sometimes wisely, sometimes pragmatically and sometimes by throwing all caution to the wind. Here for the first time is the history of these diverse reactions explored through Britain's metamorphosis from austerity to affluence, with consumerism seen through fresh eyes.
Today political commentators constantly warn of the encroachment of austerity. This book is a timely reminder of the years of real austerity in Britain: when regardless of financial status everyone suffered its tribulations: when a 'sub-prime' mortgage was unimaginable: when abuse of expense claims by public figures was unthinkable: and when no one dared utter a word critical of their bank or its manager.
For all enquiries regarding the Postgraduate Seminar Series please contact: rafaellenicholson40@hotmail.com heather_a_campbell@hotmail.com
Upcoming events
All the following events will be held at 5pm in Arts Two, Room 3.20.
Thursday 2nd Feb, 5pm - TBC
Wednesday 15th Feb, 5pm - Philip Aylett
Thursday 1st March, 5pm - Martin Cohen
Thursday 15th March, 5pm - Joel Morley
Wednesday 29th March, 5pm - Jade Shepherd
Questions/comments:
e-mail: Heather Campbell or Raf Nicholson