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British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939. / Philip Bounds

Swansea University Author: Philip Bounds

Abstract

"This thesis examines the work of the most important literary critics and theorists who were either members of, or closely associated with, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the period between 1928 and 1939. Its main concern is to provide a systematic and critical account of the co...

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Published: 2003
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42543
first_indexed 2018-08-02T18:54:57Z
last_indexed 2018-08-03T10:10:26Z
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recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2018-08-02T16:24:29.6186062 v2 42543 2018-08-02 British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939. 2076e2f2495eab4f054a928d7cf8a286 NULL Philip Bounds Philip Bounds true true 2018-08-02 "This thesis examines the work of the most important literary critics and theorists who were either members of, or closely associated with, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the period between 1928 and 1939. Its main concern is to provide a systematic and critical account of the communist understanding of the politics of literature. Its wider objective is to assess the ways in which the "Party theorists" were influenced by the CPGB's relationship with the world communist movement. The basic argument is that the work of the Party theorists had its roots in (1) the political strategies imposed on the CPGB throughout this period by the Communist International, and (2) the body of cultural doctrine enunciated by Soviet intellectuals at the famous Writers' Congress in Moscow in 1934. I argue that the Party theorists responded creatively to these external influences, usually (though not always) by drawing on ideas from the British tradition of cultural criticism to develop Soviet doctrine in distinctive ways. Moreover, in spite of its debt to Soviet theory, much of the British work on literature and culture was noticeably unorthodox - sometimes consciously so, sometimes not. I argue that these ideas are consistent with the main principles of the so-called "revisionist" school of CPGB historiography which has emerged over the last 15 years. Chapter One surveys the period between 1928 and 1933 when the CPGB adhered to the Communist International's "Class Against Class" strategy. It focuses on (1) the work of the Anglo-Australian critic P. R. Stephensen, (2) the ideas about cultural crisis developed by John Strachey and Montagu Slater, and (3) the communist response to the prevailing fashion for cultural conservatism. Chapter Two provides an overview of the ideas explored at the Soviet Writers' Congress in 1934. Chapters Three, Four and Five examine the work of Alick West, Ralph Fox and Christopher Caudwell, the three men who are usually regarded as the founders of Marxist literary theory in Britain. Chapter Six explores the consequences for British cultural Marxism of the Communist International's "Popular Front" strategy against fascism. Its particular focus is the attempt of British communists to combat the influence of fascism by tracing the history of the "English radical tradition"." E-Thesis British &amp; Irish literature.;Political science. 31 12 2003 2003-12-31 COLLEGE NANME Public Health and Policy Studies COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Doctoral Ph.D 2018-08-02T16:24:29.6186062 2018-08-02T16:24:29.6186062 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health Philip Bounds NULL 1 0042543-02082018162502.pdf 10805292.pdf 2018-08-02T16:25:02.7870000 Output 12675130 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2018-08-02T16:25:02.7870000 false
title British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
spellingShingle British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
Philip Bounds
title_short British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
title_full British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
title_fullStr British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
title_full_unstemmed British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
title_sort British Communism and the politics of literature, 1928-1939.
author_id_str_mv 2076e2f2495eab4f054a928d7cf8a286
author_id_fullname_str_mv 2076e2f2495eab4f054a928d7cf8a286_***_Philip Bounds
author Philip Bounds
author2 Philip Bounds
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2003
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description "This thesis examines the work of the most important literary critics and theorists who were either members of, or closely associated with, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the period between 1928 and 1939. Its main concern is to provide a systematic and critical account of the communist understanding of the politics of literature. Its wider objective is to assess the ways in which the "Party theorists" were influenced by the CPGB's relationship with the world communist movement. The basic argument is that the work of the Party theorists had its roots in (1) the political strategies imposed on the CPGB throughout this period by the Communist International, and (2) the body of cultural doctrine enunciated by Soviet intellectuals at the famous Writers' Congress in Moscow in 1934. I argue that the Party theorists responded creatively to these external influences, usually (though not always) by drawing on ideas from the British tradition of cultural criticism to develop Soviet doctrine in distinctive ways. Moreover, in spite of its debt to Soviet theory, much of the British work on literature and culture was noticeably unorthodox - sometimes consciously so, sometimes not. I argue that these ideas are consistent with the main principles of the so-called "revisionist" school of CPGB historiography which has emerged over the last 15 years. Chapter One surveys the period between 1928 and 1933 when the CPGB adhered to the Communist International's "Class Against Class" strategy. It focuses on (1) the work of the Anglo-Australian critic P. R. Stephensen, (2) the ideas about cultural crisis developed by John Strachey and Montagu Slater, and (3) the communist response to the prevailing fashion for cultural conservatism. Chapter Two provides an overview of the ideas explored at the Soviet Writers' Congress in 1934. Chapters Three, Four and Five examine the work of Alick West, Ralph Fox and Christopher Caudwell, the three men who are usually regarded as the founders of Marxist literary theory in Britain. Chapter Six explores the consequences for British cultural Marxism of the Communist International's "Popular Front" strategy against fascism. Its particular focus is the attempt of British communists to combat the influence of fascism by tracing the history of the "English radical tradition"."
published_date 2003-12-31T04:22:26Z
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score 11.090091

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