Song and Democratic Culture in Britain

Originally published in 1983. This innovative book is a history of working-class song in Britain which concentrates not simply on the songs and the singers but attempts to locate such song in its cultural context and apply principles of literary criticism to this essentially oral medium.

Ian Watson taught British and Irish Literature and Cultural History as well as Literary Writing at the University of Bremen, and still teaches writing in schools and in adult education. In 1994 he founded newleaf Press and newleaf magazine, which he still edits with Simon Makhali and Julia Boll. He is vice-chairman of the Virtual Literature House in Bremen.

1. Sounding Off: Aims and Approaches 2. Roots: Industrial Folk Song and Other Song Types 3. The Folk and the Revivals 4. Two Cultures 5. Song and the Reaction to Social Change 6. Song and Work 7. The Dialectics of Oppression and Resilience 8. Towards Criteria for Aesthetic Assessment 9. Introducing Jim Brown 10. The Contribution of Ewan MacColl 11. The Movement: Prospects and Suggestions for a Cultural Policy