A subdivision of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), from 1946-1956 the Communist Party Historians Group formed a highly influential cluster of British Marxist historians, who pioneered "history from below." Famous members included such leading lights of 20th-century British history as Christopher Hill, Eric Hobsbawm, Raphael Samuel and E.P. Thompson, as well as important non-academics like A. L. Morton. The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a political party in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1920 to 1991. ... Marxist or historical materialist historiography is an influential school of historiography. ... History from below is a form of historical narrative which was developed as a result of the Annales School and popularised in the 1960s. ... John Edward Christopher Hill (February 6, 1912 - February 23, 2003) was an English Marxist historian and the author of many history textbooks. ... Eric John Blair Hobsbawm (born June 9, 1917) is a British Marxist historian and author, once the leading theorist of the now defunct Communist Party of Great Britain. ... Raphael Samuel (London, 1934-December 9, 1996) was a Marxist historian born to Jewish parents. ... Edward Palmer Thompson (1924-1993) was a historian probably best known for his work The Making of the English Working Class, which included his reassessment of the Luddite movement. ... (Arthur) Leslie Morton (1903 - 1987) was a prolific English Marxist historian. ...

In keeping with their standing positions, many of the members carried out their projects from adult education institutions, rather than the academy. In 1952 several of the members founded the influential social history journal Past and Present. Libraries are a useful resource for adult learners. ... Social history is an area of historical study considered by some to be a social science that attempts to view historical evidence from the point of view of developing social trends. ... Academic publishing describes a system of publishing that is necessary in order for academic scholars to review work and make it available for a wider audience. ... Prestigiuous British historical society which produces a journal (Past and Present), a book series (Past and Present Publications) as well as sponsoring occasional conferences and appointing postdoctoral fellows. ...

Notable Members

• Edmund Dell
• Maurice Dobb
• Christopher Hill
• Rodney Hilton
• Charles Hobday
• Eric Hobsbawm
• Victor Kiernan
• A. L. Morton
• George Rudé
• Raphael Samuel
• John Saville
• Dorothy Thompson
• E. P. Thompson
• Dona Torr

The Rt. ... Maurice Herbert Dobb (September 3, 1900 - 1976), economist, Lecturer 1924-1959 and Reader 1959-1976 at Cambridge University; Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge 1948-76. ... John Edward Christopher Hill (February 6, 1912 - February 23, 2003) was an English Marxist historian and the author of many history textbooks. ... Rodney Hilton was an English Marxist historian of the late medieval period. ... Eric John Blair Hobsbawm (born June 9, 1917) is a British Marxist historian and author, once the leading theorist of the now defunct Communist Party of Great Britain. ... (Arthur) Leslie Morton (1903 - 1987) was a prolific English Marxist historian. ... British Marxist historian (1910-1993) and member of the Communist Party Historians Group. ... Raphael Samuel (London, 1934-December 9, 1996) was a Marxist historian born to Jewish parents. ... Disambiguation:- (Dorothy Thompson (nee Towers) (1923- ) is also the historian wife of the late E. P. Thompson; she is a leading expert on the Chartist movement. ... Edward Palmer Thompson (February 3, 1924 - August 28, 1993), was a British historian, socialist and peace campaigner. ...

Aims and Methods

In their work we can read two definite aims: (1) to seek out a popular revolutionary tradition that could inspire contemporary activists; and yet (2) to apply a Marxist economic model which placed an emphasis on social conditions rather than supposed "Great Men". This dualism was represented by Marx and Engels' dictum that "men make their own history, but they do not do so in conditions of their own choosing," which is regularly paraphrased in CPHG members' texts. Marxian economics refers to a body of economic thought stemming from the work of Karl Marx. ... The Great man theory is a theory held by some that aims to explains history by the impact of Great men, ie: highly influential individuals, either from personal charisma, genius intellects, or great political impact. ...

Revisiting and reinstating popular agency in the narrative of British history required great originality and determination in the research process, to draw out marginal voices from texts in which they were barely mentioned or active, and their techniques influenced both feminist historians and the Subaltern Studies Group, who also faced the challenges of writing the histories of marginalised groups. In non-technical terms, no matter what the context (whether scientific, philosophical, legal, etc) a narrative is a story, an interpretation of some aspect of the world that is historically and culturally grounded and shaped by human personality (per Walter Fisher). ... The UK has a vibrant history of feminist historical writing, especially post-WWII. From the 1960s onwards, a substantial and important group of feminists on the Left challenged the legacy of the Communist Party Historians Group and the perceived neglect of women and feminism contemporary leftist history-writing. ... The Subaltern Studies Group (SSG) or Subaltern Studies Collective are a group of scholars in India, interested in the postcolonial and post-imperial societies of India in particular and the developing world in general. ...

Decline

The group fell apart in 1956 as the Hungarian Uprising, Krushchev's Secret Speech, and several other factors precipitated something of a sea change in international Marxist opinion. Many figures went on to become prominent in the New Left, especially Samuel, Saville and Thompson. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hungarians investigate a disabled Soviet tank in Budapest The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, also known as the Hungarian Uprising or simply the Hungarian Revolt, was an anti-Soviet revolt in Hungary lasting from 23 October to 4 November 1956. ... Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchyov (Khrushchev) (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв (help· info), April 17, 1894 â€“ September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... The Secret Speech is the common name of a speech given on February 25, 1956 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denouncing the actions of Josef Stalin. ... The New Left is a term used in political discourse to refer to radical left-wing movements from the 1960s onwards. ...