For Class and Nation: Dominant Trends in the Historiography of Twentieth-Century Wales

Abstract

Welsh identity has often centred on tensions between labour and political/cultural nationalist traditions. Those tensions have influenced writing about the history of modern Wales to the extent where Welsh history might even be thought to be justifying different interpretations of Wales. But both nationalist and labour interpretations of Wales actually overlap and both have played their part in strengthening a sense of Welsh identity. This paper explores these twin themes in the historiography of 20th-century Wales and how they relate to the contexts in which they were produced and read.