Modern English Society

History and Structure 1850-1970

Judith Ryder, Harold Silver

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781032671536
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781003832034
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

First published in 1970, Modern English Society is primarily concerned with the period since the Great Exhibition of 1851. Judith Ryder and Harold Silver begin by surveying the consequences, good and ill, of industrialization, and go on to explore the changing pattern of social relationships to which it gave rise. They discuss such topics as the growth of towns and of large-scale administration, the development of welfare services, the emergence of mass politics, the mass media and mass production. They show how social attitudes, and the interpretation of historical facts are colored by our ideological views. In the second half of the book, they examine the structure and functioning of contemporary social institutions – the family, education, the economic and political systems – and assess their implications for the individual, for specific social groups, and for society as a whole. This book will be of interest to students of history and sociology.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Sociology and social history
• Note on contents and layout
• 1 The making of nineteenth-century society
• 2 Towns, people and problems
• 3 Democracy and social movements
• 4 New dimensions, new attitudes
• 5 Twentieth-century emergencies
• 6 Urban and industrial changes
• 7 Social class, social conflict and social change
• 8 Education and social mobility
• 9 The family and the social system
• 10 Politics and communications
• Conclusion: Man in mass society
• Guide to further reading
• Appendix
• Index