Overview
This talk will look at the life of A. L. Morton (1903–1987), author of A People’s History of England (1938), among many other publications. Morton was a leading intellectual of the Communist Party of Great Britain who influenced the celebrated generation of British Marxist historians (e.g., Eric Hobsbawm, E. P. Thompson, Dorothy Thompson, Christopher Hill, Rodney Hilton), as well as literary critics and those studying the wilder side of religion and utopias. This discussion will include Morton’s shift towards the lauding of an English radical history and culture, including the idea of an emerging tradition from the so-called Peasants’ Revolt to the modern-day working class, and his vision of a future England transformed. His ideas and legacy will be assessed in the contexts of his personal life, the rise of fascism, the Cold War, and the changing fortunes of the English and British far-left.
Speaker
Professor James Crossley is a Fellow of Wolfson College and Director of the Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM) in the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. His has worked on the historical Jesus, religion in English politics, and the reception history of John Ball (the apocalyptic priest of the 1381 English uprising). His current project is a history of religion and the development of the idea of an English radical tradition. His most recent monograph is an intellectual biography of one of the most influential thinkers on this topic: A. L. Morton.
Details
This event is open to all and free to attend with no need to book.
This is a hybrid event, which will take place in-person in the Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre) and also on Zoom.
If you would like to attend online, please register for the Zoom link.
Refreshments will be available for the in-person audience.
Access
This event will take place in the Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact our events team - events@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
Wolfson Humanities Society
The Humanities Society organises regular talks spanning a wide range of topics which take place every Tuesday during term time - please sign up to their mailing list to keep up to date with their upcoming events.
