Spatial relations, histories from below and the makings of agency

Reflections on The Making of the English Working Class at 50

Bibliographic Data

ID5836675
AuthorsDavid Featherstone (0000-0001-5196-2486, University of Glasgow, corresponding author), Peg Griffin (0000-0002-6742-150X, University of Glasgow), Paul Griffin (0000-0002-1656-421X)
Year2015
Volume40
Issue3
Pages375-393
Publication date2015-04-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueProgress in Human Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0309-1325 • E-ISSN: 1477-0288
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0309132515578774
OpenAlexW2019721838
LanguageEN
Citations received46
References cited67

In this paper we propose a conversation between work in labour history and labour geography, in part centring on the formative contribution of E.P. Thompson. We contend that the commitment to multiple and political forms of agency and working-class experience and the positioning of class as process, which are lasting contributions of The Making of the English Working Class, offer resources for re-invigorating debates on agency within labour geography and beyond. The paper scrutinizes the spatial politics at work in Thompson's account of agency and experience through drawing on critiques of Thompson by feminist and post-colonial scholars. The paper explores the significance of Thompson's work for asserting a spatial politics of labour and argues for attention to the diverse agentic spatial practices shaped through labour organizing and struggles. The paper concludes by setting out some key aspects of the terms of a conversation between labour geographies and labour histories

Conversation · Epistemology · Formative assessment · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Working class · Gender Studies · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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