Dr Samantha Wolstencroft

Who am I?

I have taught at Manchester Metropolitan University since 1996. Prior to embarking upon an academic career I spent a number of years working as an actor in repertory theatre, from 1987 based at the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Europe’s first professional purpose-built theatre in the round. During the mid-1990s I was a director of the Electoral Reform Society (the UK’s leading national pressure group calling for electoral reform). When I am not teaching, researching or writing I enjoy reading (mainly Russian and British working class literature), long distance walking, visiting art galleries, travel, listening to music and going to watch my husband (who is a classical musician) play. I am an avid snooker fan and try to attend most major tournaments.  

Why do I teach?

I developed a strong interest in politics from a very young age, instinctively questioned everything and loved learning, within formal education and outside of it. I am passionate about the importance of higher education and after twenty-five years teaching at MMU, I remain as excited and enthusiastic about delivering lectures and engaging with students in classes as the day I first started. I feel enormously privileged to have had the opportunity to work with students of all ages, from a wide variety of backgrounds and from all over the world. Between 2002 and 2004, I organised classes on politics and citizenship for the prison service and found that to be hugely rewarding. Seeing students progress, enjoying their studies and proceeding to meaningful and valuable employment is the most satisfying aspect of teaching in higher education. I am especially passionate about enhancing the student experience and am involved in an array of extra-curricular activities. For the last six years, I have organised the HPP Department’s annual study trip to Berlin. I love teaching at MMU, which has such a rich history of academic, technical, vocational and arts education. 

Words of wisdom

The most significant ‘words of wisdom’ for me are to be found in one book, Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. However, I think the following three statements sum up my fundamental beliefs very neatly too:

‘The great purpose of education is to give us individual citizens capable of thinking for themselves’ (extract from the 1945 Labour Party General Election manifesto).

‘The future is unwritten’ (Joe Strummer)

‘The point is to be good, to be sensitive and to be sincere’ (J. B. Priestley)

How I’ll teach you

I specialise in modern British political history and am unit leader/lecturer on a wide variety of units (listed below under undegraduate teaching). I will teach you for these units by way of lectures, seminars/worshops and individual tutorials.    

Academic and professional qualifications

I am Senior Lecturer in British Political History based within the politics section of the Department of History, Politics and Philosophy (HPP) and have taught at Manchester Metropolitan University since 1996. I studied Politics and Economic History for my undergraduate (BA Honours) degree and then completed a PhD focusing on the decline of the Liberal Party in the early twentieth century, both in Manchester. In addition to this, I undertook postgraduate research studies at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.

Previous employment

Between 1999 and 2012 I also taught British and European economic history at the University of Manchester.

Why study ?

Studying Politics at Manchester Metropolitan University allows students to experience excellent teaching by passionate lecturers who all have a strong and active research presence and are experts in their fields. We offer students a wide range of optional units informed by the very latest research. My teaching is informed by my publications on Labour politics and the politicisation of popular music and it is a privilege to be able to share my research with my students and be responsive to their ideas on the subject. Politics staff work closely with key local and national organisations, for example, I have been a director of one of the UK’s leading pressure groups and have been involved in the organisations’ national campaigning strategy. I am able to draw upon this experience in my teaching on extra-parliamentary politics. Our programmes also provide significant opportunities for work based learning and extra-curricular activities (I organise an annual study trip to Berlin, for example). Studying politics at MMU enables students to explore politics with a small ‘p’; that is the politics that affects our everyday life and make informed judgements as independent and freethinking citizens.

Undergraduate courses

I teach across the BA (Hons) Politics, BA (Hons) International Relations and BA Joint Honours programmes and am unit leader/ lecturer on the following units:

Developments in Politics: Politics and Society in Britain since 1945. This core first year unit (for all BA Politics and BA Joint Honours students) evaluates some of the most important developments in British politics since 1945. It concentrates particularly on the ways in which the main political parties have been affected by the changing nature of society and how they have responded to the problems confronting British society. Particular attention is devoted to debates surrounding the role of ideology in the shaping of policy within and across the main political parties. Topics covered include the political impact of the Second World War, the politics of consensus, the politics of discontent during the 1970s, political change and ideological division during the 1980s, New Labour (controversies in foreign policy), Britain and Europe since 1945 and the politics of Northern Ireland and Scotland since the late 1960s.

War, Violence and the Democratic State. This second year optional unit provides an understanding of the ethical dimensions of politics through an examination of persistent moral problems and dilemmas concerning war, violence and political obligation. The course adopts an inter-disciplinary approach, combining elements of political theory, moral philosophy and twentieth century British and European political history. Topics covered include pacifism, Just War Theory, the viability of international humanitarian law, debates surrounding conscription and the treatment of conscientious objectors, the question of humanitarian intervention and sub-state political violence (terrorism particularly).

Britain and World Politics: Aspects of Foreign Policy since 1918. This third year optional unit focuses upon Britain’s role, influence and changing position in the wider world. It examines a succession of major events and issues by which British foreign policy has been defined. The most prominent treatment is given to events in and associated with Europe and the former empire, both during the interwar years and during the post-1945 period. Due weight is given to Britain’s relationship with the post-war ‘superpowers’ (especially the United States). Topics covered include Britain and the Spanish Civil War, ‘appeasement’ during the 1930s, the Triple Alliance and the post-war world (UN and NATO), the Suez crisis, retreat from empire, Britain and Europe since 1945, the ‘special relationship’, Britain’s response to Bosnia and Kosovo, the invasion of Iraq and the morality of military humanitarian intervention in the 21st century.

The Politics of Protest. This second year optional unit explores the changing character of British politics during the 1980s and focuses specific attention to the politics of protest. The unit adopts a broad perspective in terms of what constitutes political campaigning, politically motivated protest, and evaluates a number of central themes: the dynamics of issues and ideology, the transformation of the political parties and the interrelationship of political change during the 1980s to wider political culture, in particular protest culture. Topics covered include civil disobedience and direct action, the policing of protest, industrial protest, the politics of the arts (music, theatre and television) and organised protest and pressure groups (particularly the environmental protest movement and animal rights activism).

Music with a Message: the Politicisation of Popular Music in 1980s Britain. This short case study of twelve lectures is available within the core third year unit Issues in Contemporary Politics. The unit is informed by my recent research and explores the changing character of politics and society in Britain during the 1980s, paying particular attention to the process by which political ideas were transmitted across wider society. It adopts a wide perspective in terms of what constitutes political campaigning and evaluates the interrelationship between political ideology and wider political culture, specifically popular music. Topics covered include popular music and social realism, music and anti-war protest (the second Cold War, the Falklands and Northern Ireland), musicians and direct political activism (anti-racism campaigns, right to work campaign, the miners’ strike and the anti- Apartheid movement) and the politics of artwork and imagery.

External examiner roles

I was external examiner (Economic History) at the University of Manchester between 2017 and 2019  

Research expertise

My recent book The Progressive Alliance and the Rise of Labour: Political Change in Industrial Britain, 1903-1922 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) provides a detailed analysis of the politics of the Progressive Alliance at the constituency level from its inception to collapse. My book provides a detailed account of the difficulties faced by the early Labour Party in its attempt to attain a foothold within the political landscape. This includes consideration of difficulties in the formulation of a distinctive policy programme, party organisation and electoral performance. The book provides a detailed account of the impact of the experience of war upon the political parties and the power of issues in transforming electoral alignment in Britain from 1918, particularly the significance of economic context in enabling the Labour Party to build and consolidate its electoral position. Prior to this, no single study had ever provided an exhaustive analysis of political change in Britain’s first industrial city between 1903 and 1923 and no study had ever examined, in detail, aspects of the political history of Stoke-on-Trent. 

My next book Shout! Popular Music and Protest Culture in 1980s Britain (to be published in Autumn 2022) examines the changing character of politics and society in Britain during the 1980s, paying particular attention to the dynamics of issues and ideology and the process by which political ideas were transmitted across wider society. It adopts a wide perspective in terms of what constitutes political campaigning and evaluates the interrelationship between political ideology and wider political culture, specifically popular music. The country that emerged at the end of the 1980s was almost unrecognisable from that of the beginning of the decade and represented one of the most polarised and turbulent periods in modern British history. Music responded to political change, documented it and left an invaluable record of reactions to it. My book explores two principal themes: First, how musicians were influential in focusing attention upon political, social and economic issues; how they mirrored the concerns of their audiences and how they contributed to motivating and mobilising opinion via their art form. Secondly, the book considers how an organised protest culture developed, and how musicians engaged in direct political activism, participated in a wide variety of campaigns and stood in solidarity with specific groups, the young, the unemployed, peace activists and human rights campaigners. Popular music provided a voice for those who desired a very different vision for Britain and for a generation growing up during the 1980s, provided much more than just a soundtrack to their youth; it became an integral part of their political identity. My book will demonstrate the role of popular music as a critical medium for a culture of protest.

At present, I am undertaking research for another publication: Class, Politics and Culture. Figurative Art and Theatre: The Regional Dimension, c1950-1990. This research involves a detailed study of the political and social significance of the work of professional artists and theatre in North Staffordshire, an area that saw the development of a particularly strong artistic culture. My research focuses upon a number of professional artists based in the region, community arts venues (youth theatres and factory-based theatres) and the documentary plays produced by the Victoria Theatre company. The Victoria Theatre became nationally renowned for a series of panoramic history plays and ‘living newspaper’ plays focused on working life and local labour disputes. Utilising techniques from journalism and documentary making, these plays presented a realistic portrayal of working class life. Produced and presented during a particularly turbulent era in British politics (the 1970s and 1980s), I believe these plays resonated powerfully with their audience. My research involves an extensive examination of artwork produced within the region alongside a detailed study of a theatre company as a working group within a local community. In addition to this, I am also embarking upon research focused upon political campaigning in Britain throughout the twentieth century. This will involve a detailed study of the visual aspect of election campaigns and political advertising.

In 2017, I was invited to complete the manuscript of Could The Versailles System Have Worked by the late Professor Howard Elcock. The book was published by Palgrave Macmillan in September 2018.    

Publications

• Books (authored/edited/special issues)

  S. Wolstencroft (2018). The Progressive Alliance and the Rise of Labour, 1903-1922 Political Change in Industrial Britain. Springer.

• Journal articles