The Age of Asa Lord Briggs, Public Life and History in Britain since 1945

Asa Briggs has been a prominent figure in post-war cultural life - as a pioneering historian, a far-sighted educational reformer, and a sensitive chronicler of the way in which broadcasting and communication more generally have shaped modern society. He has also been a devoted servant of the public good, involved in many inquiries, boards and trusts. Yet few accounts of public life in Britain since the Second World War include a discussion or appreciation of his influential role. This collection of essays provides the first critical assessment of Asa Briggs' career, using fresh research and new perspectives to analyse his contribution and impact on scholarship, the expansion of higher education at home and overseas, and his support and leadership for the arts and media more generally.

Miles Taylor is Professor of Modern History at the University of York, UK. Between 2008 and 2014 he was Director of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, UK. His recent books include The Victorian Empire and Britain's Maritime World, 1837-1901: The Sea and Global History (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He is currently completing a study of Queen Victoria and India.

Preface; David Cannadine

Introduction: Asa Briggs and Public Life in Britain Since 1945; Miles Taylor

PART I: HISTORY

1. The Interconnectedness of Things: Asa Briggs and Social History; Rohan McWilliam

2. A Little Bit of a Victorian? Asa Briggs and Victorian Studies; Martin Hewitt

3. Victorian Capitalists and Middle-Class Formation: Reflections on Asa Briggs' Birmingham; Francesca Carnevali and Jennifer Aston

4. Asa Briggs and the Remaking of Australian historiography; Frank Bongiorno

5. Asa Briggs and the Emergence of Labour History in Post-War Britain; John McIlroy

PART II: BROADCASTING

6. From the Daily Mail to the BBC: Communications in Britain, c. 1896-1922; James Thompson

7. Broadcasting Carries On !: Asa Briggs and the History of the Wartime BBC; Sian Nicholas

8. Asa and the Epochs: the BBC, the Historian, the Institution and the Archive; Jean Seaton

PART III: UNIVERSITIES

9. Back to Yorkshire: 'Asia' Briggs at Leeds, 1955-1961; Malcolm Chase

10. Asa Briggs and the University of Sussex, 1961-1976; Matthew Cragoe

11. Asa Briggs and the Opening up of the Open University; Daniel Weinbren

12. From Worcester to Longmans: Devising the History of the Book; James Raven