In 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union – but has yet to leave its Empire past behind. What part did the long afterlife of the world’s largest-ever Empire play in Britain’s view of itself and world? And could a post-EU Britain, against all the odds, become less unequal?
In this event Professor Dorling and Professor Tomlinson turned their attention to often overlooked elements in the story – Britain’s past imperial might, jingoism, myth making and racism; deep-set anxieties about change and conflicting visions of the future – and the possibility of an unexpected outcome, namely that its shock to the national system may slow or even reverse the decades-long rise of inequality.
In their co-authored book Rule Britannia: Brexit and the End of Empire, eminent scholars Danny Dorling and Sally Tomlinson argue that while Brexit will almost certainly require the UK to confront its own “shocking, Dorian Gray-like deteriorated image”, “out of the ashes of Brexit could, should and perhaps will come a chastened, less small-minded, less greedy future. There are good reasons to be hopeful.”
Speaker
Professor Danny Dorling
Danny Dorling (@dannydorling) is Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. He is author of books including Peak Inequality: Britain’s Ticking Time Bomb, The Equality Effect: Improving Life for Everyone and All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times, and What We Can Do About It.
Speaker
Professor Sally Tomlinson
Sally Tomlinson is an Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths University of London and Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. She is author of books including A Sociology of Special and Inclusive Education: Exploring the Manufacture of Inability and Education and Race from Empire to Brexit.
Discussant
Professor Gurminder K. Bhambra
Gurminder K. Bhambra is a Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in the Department of International Relations in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. While her research interests are primarily in the area of postcolonial and global historical sociology, she is also interested in the intersection of the social sciences more generally with recent work in postcolonial and decolonial studies. Her recent work addresses the political economy of race and colonialism.
Chair
Professor Bev Skeggs
Bev Skeggs is a Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University and a Former AFSEE Academic Director. She is one of the foremost feminist sociologists in the world, and has a wealth of experience addressing the multi-dimensional nature of inequality. Her book Formations of Class and Gender (1997) has been profoundly significant in drawing attention to the intersections between class and gender inequality, as experienced by working class young women dealing with the vulnerabilities of daily life in harsh conditions.
Banner Image: Photo by David Jones on Unsplash
