Witham, ND;
(2016)
Popular History, Postwar Liberalism, and the Role of the Public Intellectual in Richard Hofstadter's The American Political Tradition (1948).
The Historical Journal
, 59
(4)
pp. 1133-1155.
10.1017/S0018246X1500045X.
Preview |
Text
Witham_1471648_HJ_Submission_Pre-Print(red).pdf - Accepted Version Download (329kB) | Preview |
Abstract
This article examines the status of Richard Hofstadter's classic work The American political tradition (1948) as a 'popular history.' It uses documents drawn from Hofstadter’s personal papers, those of his publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc., as well as several of his contemporaries, to pursue a detailed reconstruction of the manner in which the book was written, edited and reviewed, and to demonstrate how it circulated within, and was defined by, the literary culture of the 1940s and 1950s. The article explores Hofstadter’s early-career conception of himself as a scholar writing for audiences outside of the academy, reframes the significance of so-called 'middlebrow' literature, and, in doing so, offers a fresh appraisal of the links between popular historical writing, liberal politics, and the role of public intellectuals in the postwar United States.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Popular History, Postwar Liberalism, and the Role of the Public Intellectual in Richard Hofstadter's The American Political Tradition (1948) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0018246X1500045X |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X1500045X |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © Cambridge University Press. This accepted manuscript version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. The final version of record published in The Historical Journal is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X1500045X. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of the Americas |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1471648 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
