This 15-hour free course explored key aspects of the economy, society, politics and culture of contemporary Wales from a social science perspective.

Social and Cultural Change in Contemporary Wales (1978) draws together recent research specifically on Wales, to overcome the overly-English takes on the ‘social structure of modern Britain’. A pattern of relative social deprivation is outlined, and such symptoms of this deprivation as second home ownership, school closure, economic peripheralism and inadequate social services become the marker of Wales’ marginality. The cultural marker of note is the Welsh language, several of the papers discussing its erosion and the steps taken to preserve and maintain it. While ethnicity serves as an integrating force, there are also divisions based upon class, which are discussed.

This work is intended to examine the main trends in Wales during the century following the Tudor settlement of Wales. Emphasis is placed on the social structure, the framework of government and administration, and the Reformation Settlement. The Stuart accession and its repercussions are also considered in relation to political, economic and cultural affairs, as well as the attitudes of the Welsh gentry to a new environment on the eve of the Civil War. The work makes ample use of contemporary sources to examine each aspect of the political, governmental and religious life of Wales.

Rich in detail but vigorous, authoritative and unsentimental, A History of Modern Wales is a comprehensive and unromanticised examination of Wales as it was and is. It stresses both the long-term continuities in Welsh history, and also the significant regional differences within the principality.

This is the first general history of early modern Wales for more than a generation. The book assimilates new scholarship and deploys a wealth of original archival research to present a fresh picture of Wales under the Tudor and Stuart monarchs. It adopts novel perspectives on concepts of Welsh identity and allegiance to examine epochal events, such as the union of England and Wales under Henry VIII; the Reformation and the Break with Rome; and the British Civil Wars and Glorious Revolution. It argues that Welsh experiences during this period can best be captured through widespread attachments to a shared history and language, and to ideas of Britishness and monarchy. The volume looks beyond high politics to examine the rich tapestry of early modern Welsh life, considering concepts of gender and women's experiences; the role of language and cultural change; and expressions of Welsh identity beyond the principality's borders.

This book discusses issues of Welsh literature, history and the vernacular language of the devolved region of Wales (as a part of the United Kingdom of Northern Ireland and Great Britain). In this context, the volume sheds light on various aspects of the identity construction of a small nation with an endangered language, which is a P-Celtic tongue, known for exhibiting many features alien to Indo-European and SAE languages. All the issues tackled here are presented in diachronic and synchronic perspective, allowing for correlations to be drawn with similar problems faced by other cultures. As such, the volume will be of interest to anyone promoting Wales and Welsh culture within and outside the country, as well as journalists, politicians, linguists, literary scholars, historians, and those interested in areal studies focusing on the UK.

This book assesses how policies developed by the National Assembly for Wales are affecting gender inequalities and investigates whether they are having an impact on social justice for women in Wales. In 1999 the first elections to devolved governments took place in Scotland and Wales. In Wales this resulted in 40 per cent of Assembly Members being women. In 2003 this proportion increased to 50 per cent which makes the National Assembly for Wales 'the first legislative body with equal numbers of men and women in the world' ("The Guardian", 3/5/03). This new gender balance of political representatives is a significant change in the gendering of political institutions and this, together with the creation of a new tier of government, has the potential to create new opportunities for the development of social policies which address gender and other social inequalities. Focusing on distinct policy domains, this book explores gender politics in a devolved Wales. Each chapter investigates a particular aspect of social policy, exploring the way it has developed since devolution and the extent to which considerations of gender and social justice for women are central to this development. The empirical chapters which form the core of the book are situated theoretically and politically by the first chapter which discusses how gender and social justice can be theorised and explores devolution and its relation to gender politics in Wales.

A collection of essays, the contributors to this volume describe the experiences of Irish migrants who moved to Wales. The essays also examine in depth the social and cultural impact the Irish immigrants made on the country.