Overview

Using a wide range of student testimony and oral history, Georgina Brewis sets in international, comparative context a one-hundred year history of student voluntarism and social action at UK colleges and universities, including such causes as relief for victims of fascism in the 1930s and international development in the 1960s.

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9781137370136

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Reviews

Georgina Brewis' study of student volunteering is both illuminating and rich in detail. We move from university settlements in Edwardian slums to charity rags, to concern with unemployment and internationalism between the wars, and finally to the 'Ban the Bomb' and anti-apartheid protests of the fifties and sixties. This book brings together youthful idealism, social and political engagement, and the history of universities in an original and insightful way. - Carol Dyhouse, Research Professor of History, University of Sussex, UK Brewis' important new study of student action describes the social and political changes, notably the increased participation of women, which underlay different forms of engagement. From the settlement movement through the 'student popular front' of the thirties, to international activities in the post war period, she demonstrates a story of both change and continuities. It opens up fresh perspectives for the study of British higher education and deserves to be widely read. - Nicholas Deakin, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, UK This is an important piece of scholarship which does what all good history should do it tells a good story and sheds light on issues of current interest and relevance. The book takes in some of the key political, social and economic episodes of the twentieth century and throughout there are some great vignettes and some unexpected revelations. Overall, an excellent study, well researched, well written, and with significant relevance for today. - Justin Davis Smith, National Council for Voluntary Organisations Brewis' meticulous study of the history of student volunteering over a hundred-year period from the 1880s onwards does an awful lot to debunk the myth that the present day is an exceptional time for student volunteering. Focusing primarily, although not exclusively, on the experiences of student volunteering in the UK, the book explores different phases and practices of student volunteering and how this activity has developed in relationship to the expansion of higher education over the century. The book is structured chronologically and considers how different historical periods were associated with distinctive practices of student volunteering. The overarching theme of the book is that the history of student volunteering cannot be separated from the wider history of higher education, student experience and key social, political and economic events. The book will be of considerable interest to a range of scholars including historians of higher education and voluntarism but also to those working with student volunteers in the present day as it emphasises the need to locate student engagement within wider political and social debates and to understand how current practices are influenced by previous modes of engagement. - Voluntary Sector Review This book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of voluntary action or the history of higher education. Georgina Brewis' book provides us with a huge amount of detail and creates a much 'thicker' history and nuanced understanding of student voluntarism. Researchers in this ?eld will be able to mine it for a wide range of useful information and insights. A very worthwhile read. - Economic History Review

Georgina Brewis' study of student volunteering is both illuminating and rich in detail. We move from university settlements in Edwardian slums to charity rags, to concern with unemployment and internationalism between the wars, and finally to the 'Ban the Bomb' and anti-apartheid protests of the fifties and sixties. This book brings together youthful idealism, social and political engagement, and the history of universities in an original and insightful way. - Carol Dyhouse, Research Professor of History, University of Sussex, UK Brewis' important new study of student action describes the social and political changes, notably the increased participation of women, which underlay different forms of engagement. From the settlement movement through the 'student popular front' of the thirties, to international activities in the post war period, she demonstrates a story of both change and continuities. It opens up fresh perspectives for the study of British higher education and deserves to be widely read. - Nicholas Deakin, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, UK This is an important piece of scholarship which does what all good history should do-it tells a good story and sheds light on issues of current interest and relevance. The book takes in some of the key political, social and economic episodes of the twentieth century and throughout there are some great vignettes and some unexpected revelations. Overall, an excellent study, well researched, well written, and with significant relevance for today. - Justin Davis Smith, National Council for Voluntary Organisations Brewis' meticulous study of the history of student volunteering over a hundred-year period from the 1880s onwards does an awful lot to debunk the myth that the present day is an exceptional time for student volunteering. Focusing primarily, although not exclusively, on the experiences of student volunteering in the UK, the book explores different phases and practices of student volunteering and how this activity has developed in relationship to the expansion of higher education over the century. The book is structured chronologically and considers how different historical periods were associated with distinctive practices of student volunteering. The overarching theme of the book is that the history of student volunteering cannot be separated from the wider history of higher education, student experience and key social, political and economic events. The book will be of considerable interest to a range of scholars including historians of higher education and voluntarism but also to those working with student volunteers in the present day as it emphasises the need to locate student engagement within wider political and social debates and to understand how current practices are influenced by previous modes of engagement. - Voluntary Sector Review This book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of voluntary action or the history of higher education. Georgina Brewis' book provides us with a huge amount of detail and creates a much 'thicker' history and nuanced understanding of student voluntarism. Researchers in this field will be able to mine it for a wide range of useful information and insights. A very worthwhile read. - Economic History Review

Praise to come.

Georgina Brewis' study of student volunteering is both illuminating and rich in detail. We move from university settlements in Edwardian slums to charity rags, to concern with unemployment and internationalism between the wars, and finally to the 'Ban the Bomb' and anti-apartheid protests of the fifties and sixties. This book brings together youthful idealism, social and political engagement, and the history of universities in an original and insightful way. - Carol Dyhouse, Research Professor of History, University of Sussex, UK Brewis' important new study of student action describes the social and political changes, notably the increased participation of women, which underlay different forms of engagement. From the settlement movement through the 'student popular front' of the thirties, to international activities in the post war period, she demonstrates a story of both change and continuities. It opens up fresh perspectives for the study of British higher education and deserves to be widely read. - Nicholas Deakin, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, UK

Author Information

Georgina Brewis is Senior Lecturer in the History of Education at UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.

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