'Angelic Spirits of '68': Memories of 60s' Radicalism in Responses to the 2010–11 UK Student Protests. Issue 3 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dean, Jonathan
• Is Part Of: Contemporary British history. Volume 30:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 305
• Page End: 325
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Student protest -- media -- memory -- 1968 -- discourse; Great Britain -- History -- Elizabeth II, 1952- -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- History -- 20th century -- Periodicals; 941.085
• DOI: 10.1080/13619462.2015.1099438
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1361-9462

Abstract

Abstract: The winter of 2010–11 saw a significant upsurge of student protest in Britain. This paper analyses the numerous references to 60s' radicalism which circulated in responses to the protests, with a focus on left-wing media. Drawing on performativity theory, the paper traces the highly polarised divisions between affirmations and repudiations of '1968' in responses to the protests. This polarisation, I argue, reflects an absence of a clear-cut collective memory of the British radical 60s. More broadly, the paper sheds light on the hitherto under-explored mechanisms through which memories of '1968' shape the discursive and affective landscape of contemporary radical politics.