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Description
Arthur Marwick interviews Lord Briggs about his work as an historian. He begins by asking what attracted Lord Briggs to the study of history and the 19th century in particular. Lord Briggs explains... that his childhood in industrial England (Birmingham) made him curious about how the landscape and the people had been refashioned by industrial development, and that led him to his study of 19th century England. Lord Briggs went on to talk about the important contributions of other disciplines to historical study. The Social sciences, demography and geography with their emphasis on controlled scientific observation were vital to a modern historians. At the same time he was concerned to remind us that literature, painting and so on, properly studied, could provide contrasting but equally important information and, for himself, Lord Briggs emphasised the importance he now ascribes to the study of popular culture as part of the process of writing history. The programme concludes with Lord Briggs' expression of his belief in the study of history as a sort of central co-ordinating discipline, making sense of the chaos of human experience, not in scientific terms but in human terms.
Arthur Marwick interviews Lord Briggs about his work as an historian. He begins by asking what attracted Lord Briggs to the study of history and the 19th century in particular. Lord Briggs explains... that his childhood in industrial England (Birmingham) made him curious about how the landscape and the people had been refashioned by industrial development, and that led him to his study of 19th century England. Lord Briggs went on to talk about the important contributions of other disciplines to historical study. The Social sciences, demography and geography with their emphasis on controlled scientific observation were vital to a modern historians. At the same time he was concerned to remind us that literature, painting and so on, properly studied, could provide contrasting but equally important information and, for himself, Lord Briggs emphasised the importance he now ascribes to the study of popular culture as part of the process of writing history. The programme concludes with Lord Briggs' expression of his belief in the study of history as a sort of central co-ordinating discipline, making sense of the chaos of human experience, not in scientific terms but in human terms.
| Module code and title: | A102, An arts foundation course |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A102; 01 |
| First transmission date: | 1987 |
| Published: | 1987 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:18:20 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Tony Coe |
| Contributors: | Asa Briggs; Arthur Marwick |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | 19th century; Industrial Development; Popular Culture |
| Subject terms: | History |
| Master spool number: | MKL616_86YA0053LJO |
| Production number: | 86YA0053LJO |
| Available to public: | no |
