National histories and national identities; British devolution past and future

‘Devolution was originally intended as a means of pulling the teeth of nationalism in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; that plan has backfired spectacularly.’

The Open University’s Dr Richard Marsden will explore how changing ideas about the past have contributed to the unprecedented existential challenges now facing the British state.

George Orwell once wrote; ‘he who controls the present, controls the past’. Applying this idea to present-day devolution, Dr Marsden considers the extent to which the march of both devolution and full-blown nationalism in Wales, Scotland and Ireland are the result of long-term historical changes. More specifically, he will talk about some of the changing ways in which constituent nations of the UK have mythologised their own pasts, as well as their historical relationships with one another and with Europe.

An audience Q&A will follow the lecture. Dr Marsden will be joined by Professor of Public Policy Laura McAllister to discuss Wales’ national history, identify and future.

Doors open 5.30pm and the lecture starts 6pm. Please ensure you are seated by 5.55pm. 

Tickets are free, but booking is essential. Click here to book.

If you can’t make it why not head over to our Facebook page on the day where we will be live!

This lecture is held in partnership with Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre and is part of the OU’s History lecture series. For more information on other lectures in this series, and how you can watch them,
head to the OU Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences page.