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of political interventions and new opportunities for social engineering.
As cultural industries of this sort had a long history in Britain,
going back as far as the early modern period, they had become an
accepted part of modern society by the late nineteenth century, like
industrial production or the consumption of goods, and legal copyright
was established early. By contrast, the literature on the cultural
industries in Germany gives the impression that the breakthrough
came later there, not until the end of the nineteenth century. It suggests
that socially and politically, commercial culture was regarded
in a highly critical way, some of its aspects being strongly rejected,
and that the legal basis of commercialization was established with
some delay. On the other hand, from the start political parties,
churches, and other ideological interests seem to have been readier to
intervene politically and to nurture the cultural industries in
Germany than in Britain—an aspect that is of interest in relation to
the formulation and political instrumentalization of mass culture
during the inter-war period.
The conference will investigate the context within which the cultural
industries were created in Britain and Germany, and ask
whether the paths of development and modes of reaction were really
as different as the literature suggests. In addition, it will analyse
perceptions and mutual cooperation between the actors.
European Societies of Work in Transformation: Comparative and Trans -
national Perspectives on Great Britain, Sweden, and West Germany during
the 1970s.
Date: 26–28 Nov. 2009
Venue: German Historical Institute London
Conveners: Kerstin Brückweh (GHIL), Andreas Gestrich (GHIL),
Bernhard Rieger (University College London)
During the 1970s, many European countries experienced profound
structural transformations that affected their character as industrial
societies. In particular, the fundamental changes that reshaped the
world of work galvanized public attention as much as they puzzled
policymakers and social scientists. Moreover, countless people