Harold Perkin
Encyclopedia
Harold James Perkin, was a British social historian and founder of the Social History Society (1976).
Perkin was born in Hanley, Staffordshire to humble origins and attended Hanley High School and then obtained a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge
from 1945, gaining a starred First Class degree in 1948 followed by National Service
in the RAF. Rejected by his Cambridge
college to study for a PhD
, he commenced an extramural history teaching post from 1950 at Manchester University.
1965-67, Professor 1967-84, Director, Centre for Social History 1974-84; Professor of History, Northwestern University
, Illinois
1985-97 (Emeritus);
He had a visiting professorship at Rice University
, founded and chaired the Social History Society, and served as chief salary negotiator for the Association of University Teachers
and was later its president. As a distinguished social historian Perkins has secured an academic stature as lasting as that of Asa Briggs and Eric Hobsbawm
.
Both later issued in book form.
Perkin was born in Hanley, Staffordshire to humble origins and attended Hanley High School and then obtained a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
from 1945, gaining a starred First Class degree in 1948 followed by National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the RAF. Rejected by his Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
college to study for a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, he commenced an extramural history teaching post from 1950 at Manchester University.
Academic career
Lecturer in Social History, Manchester University 1951-65; Senior Lecturer in Social History, Lancaster UniversityLancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
1965-67, Professor 1967-84, Director, Centre for Social History 1974-84; Professor of History, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
1985-97 (Emeritus);
He had a visiting professorship at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, founded and chaired the Social History Society, and served as chief salary negotiator for the Association of University Teachers
Association of University Teachers
The Association of University Teachers was the trade union and professional association that represented academic and academic-related staff at pre-1992 universities in the United Kingdom...
and was later its president. As a distinguished social historian Perkins has secured an academic stature as lasting as that of Asa Briggs and Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
.
Publications
- New Universities in the United Kingdom, Case Studies on Innovation in Higher Education, Paris: OECD, 1969
- Key Profession: History of the Association of University Teachers, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969 ISBN 0710065019
- The Origins of Modern English Society 1780-1880, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969 ISBN 0710045670
- The Age of the Railway, UK: Panther Books, (1970)
- History (Outline), Law Book Co of Australasia, (1970) ISBN 071006814X
- Age of the Automobile, UK: Quartet Books, (1976) ISBN 0704321122
- The Structured Crowd: Essays in English social history, UK: Harvester Books, (1981) ISBN 0855274131
- The Rise of Professional Society, England Since 1880, London; New York: Routledge, 1989 ISBN 0415301785
- The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World, London: Routledge, 1996 ISBN 0415143373
- The Making of a Social Historian, (autobiography) UK: Athena Press, 2002 ISBN 1844010147
Television
Television shows for Granada TV- The Age of the Railway (1970)
- The Age of the Automobile (1976)
Both later issued in book form.