The Intersection of Race, Class and Politics in the North East of England, 1919-1939

Martin, Hannah Elizabeth (2021) The Intersection of Race, Class and Politics in the North East of England, 1919-1939. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

Preview

Text (Doctoral thesis) martin.hannah_phd_14029107.pdf - Submitted Version Download (22MB) | Preview

Abstract

The North East of England in the interwar period was a region where the presence of ‘race’ figured in multiple ways within the everyday lives of an ethnically diverse working class. This thesis revisits traditional narratives of North East social and labour history to highlight the material and less-tangible presence of ‘race’ and develop an inclusive place-based historical geography of working class communities in the region. Conceptually, this thesis brings together literatures on representations, conditions and agency to revisit archival material. It draws from a variety of national, regional and local archives as well as detailed engagement with newspaper collections. Methodologically, this thesis is centred on a critical historical geography approach which foregrounds the use of intersectional theory to uncover everyday experiences of marginalised communities and ‘turn up the volume’ of previously under-represented perspectives. The thesis is concentrated on three empirical cuts – representations, conditions and agency – which centre minority ethnic experiences and embed them within and against existing North East labour histories by shifting analysis from exceptional episodes of disorder and violence to the everyday experiences of ‘race’ within an ethnically diverse working class. This thesis provides original empirical contributions to regional histories in addition to a broader conceptual development to a variety of sub-fields across the humanities and social sciences to highlight moments and experiences that have often been on the periphery of analysis and contribute to the reconceptualization of representations, conditions and agency explicitly through the lens of the everyday.

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads