A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism

Stefan Berger; C. Wicke

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10

A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism

Stefan Berger
, C. Wicke

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The political thought of the British peace activist E.P. Thompson (1924–1993) is often regarded as being torn between Marxist transnationalism and English traditionalism, articulated by his public roles as a political activist on the one hand and author/historian on the other. By analysing the social networks that were fundamental for his political activity, however, this chapter aims at writing a different story: although his thinking was rooted within a national context, Thompson at the same time was truly global in the articulation of internationalist ideas. His political aim of bringing about a democratic socialist revolution from below, breaking the circle of the nuclear arms race, is paralleled by his academic concept of a “history from below” that takes into consideration the specific local, regional, and national context of people and their agency to understand possibilities of transformation and to make predictions for the future. This internationalism, “earthed” in a history of the ordinary, was central to his political thinking.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The Transnational Activist
Subtitle of host publication	Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century
Editors	Stefan Berger, Sean Scalmer
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
Chapter	10
Pages	257-281
Number of pages	25
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-319-66206-0
ISBN (Print)	978-3-319-66205-3, 978-3-319-88195-9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10
Publication status	Published - 19 Dec 2017

Publication series

Name	Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
ISSN (Print)	2634-6559
ISSN (Electronic)	2634-6567

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10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10

bergerFinal published version, 239 KBLicence: Taverne

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Berger, S., & Wicke, C. (2017). A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism. In S. Berger, & S. Scalmer (Eds.), The Transnational Activist: Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century (1 ed., pp. 257-281). (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10

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Berger, S & Wicke, C 2017, A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism. in S Berger & S Scalmer (eds), The Transnational Activist: Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century. 1 edn, Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 257-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10

A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism. / Berger, Stefan; Wicke, C.
The Transnational Activist: Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century. ed. / Stefan Berger; Sean Scalmer. 1. ed. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. p. 257-281 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

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Berger S, Wicke C. A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism. In Berger S, Scalmer S, editors, The Transnational Activist: Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century. 1 ed. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 2017. p. 257-281. (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-66206-0_10

A Very Rooted Cosmopolitan: EP Thompson’s Englishness and Global Activism

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