J. C. D. Clark
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Charles Douglas Clark (born 28 February 1951) is a British
historian of both British
and American history
. He received his undergraduate degreee at Downing College, Cambridge
. Having previously held posts at Peterhouse, Cambridge and All Souls College, Oxford into 1996, he has since held the Joyce C. and Elizabeth Ann Hall Distinguished Professorship of British History at the University of Kansas
.
historian of 17th- and 18th century British history
. He is notable for arguing against both the Marxist
and Whiggish
interpretations of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Instead, Clark emphasizes the unities and coherences of the period between 1660 and 1832. It was he who dubbed it the “long eighteenth century”, a periodisation which is now widely accepted in historical academia. Clark maintains the period was one of Anglican-aristocratic
hegemony
, marked by popular acceptance of the monarchy
and the Church of England
as symbols of national unity. This edifice was characterized by the dominance of an aristocratic-gentry
oligarchy
and a sense of national identity (preceding 19th century nationalism
), that was firmly underpinned by a shared history and religious allegiance. In Clark’s model, Britons embraced the official entrenchment of these parameters, which was challenged primarily by religious dissent.
Clark has also framed an explanation of the American Revolution
as, in part, a "war of religion", triggered by the denomination
al conflicts still endemic at that time within the English-speaking North Atlantic world.
Clark has frequently maintained that too often the 18th century has been interpreted teleologically in the light of the 19th; he sees his mission as an historian to explain the long 18th century in its own terms. Clark criticised Marxists such as Christopher Hill
, Eric Hobsbawm
and E.P. Thompson for advancing what he argued was an incorrect interpretation.
In 1994 Clark published Samuel Johnson: Literature, Religion, and English Cultural Politics from the Restoration to Romanticism , in which he argued that Johnson was not only a Tory
but also a Jacobite
and a nonjuror (one who declined or avoided loyalty oaths to the Hanoverians). The thesis proved controversial. Clark and the Cambridge-based literary scholar Howard Erskine-Hill debated American literary scholars, chiefly Donald Greene
and Howard Weinbrot, in two successive volumes of The Age of Johnson (Volumes 7 and 8) and an issue of Studies in English Literature. In 2002, Clark and Erskine-Hill produced an edited volume on Johnson's political views.
Clark is now primarily interested in the history of religion
, and his chief achievement is the reintroduction of a religious dimension into the agendas formerly set by positivist, functionalist
and reductionist historians.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian of both British
History of the British Isles
The history of the British Isles has witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and the smaller adjacent islands, which together make up the British Isles, as well as with France, Germany, the Low...
and American history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. He received his undergraduate degreee at Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
. Having previously held posts at Peterhouse, Cambridge and All Souls College, Oxford into 1996, he has since held the Joyce C. and Elizabeth Ann Hall Distinguished Professorship of British History at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
.
Achievement
Clark began as a leading revisionistHistorical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
historian of 17th- and 18th century British history
History of the British Isles
The history of the British Isles has witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and the smaller adjacent islands, which together make up the British Isles, as well as with France, Germany, the Low...
. He is notable for arguing against both the Marxist
Marxist historiography
Marxist or historical materialist historiography is a school of historiography influenced by Marxism. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography are the centrality of social class and economic constraints in determining historical outcomes....
and Whiggish
Whig history
Whig history is the approach to historiography which presents the past as an inevitable progression towards ever greater liberty and enlightenment, culminating in modern forms of liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy. In general, Whig historians stress the rise of constitutional government,...
interpretations of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Instead, Clark emphasizes the unities and coherences of the period between 1660 and 1832. It was he who dubbed it the “long eighteenth century”, a periodisation which is now widely accepted in historical academia. Clark maintains the period was one of Anglican-aristocratic
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
, marked by popular acceptance of the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
and the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
as symbols of national unity. This edifice was characterized by the dominance of an aristocratic-gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
and a sense of national identity (preceding 19th century nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
), that was firmly underpinned by a shared history and religious allegiance. In Clark’s model, Britons embraced the official entrenchment of these parameters, which was challenged primarily by religious dissent.
Clark has also framed an explanation of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
as, in part, a "war of religion", triggered by the denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
al conflicts still endemic at that time within the English-speaking North Atlantic world.
Clark has frequently maintained that too often the 18th century has been interpreted teleologically in the light of the 19th; he sees his mission as an historian to explain the long 18th century in its own terms. Clark criticised Marxists such as Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill (historian)
John Edward Christopher Hill , usually known simply as Christopher Hill, was an English Marxist historian and author of textbooks....
, Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
and E.P. Thompson for advancing what he argued was an incorrect interpretation.
In 1994 Clark published Samuel Johnson: Literature, Religion, and English Cultural Politics from the Restoration to Romanticism , in which he argued that Johnson was not only a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
but also a Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and a nonjuror (one who declined or avoided loyalty oaths to the Hanoverians). The thesis proved controversial. Clark and the Cambridge-based literary scholar Howard Erskine-Hill debated American literary scholars, chiefly Donald Greene
Donald Greene
Donald Johnson Greene was a literary critic, English professor, and scholar of British literature, particularly the eighteenth-century period. Known especially for his work on Samuel Johnson, he also wrote on later authors such as Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and Donald Davie.Greene...
and Howard Weinbrot, in two successive volumes of The Age of Johnson (Volumes 7 and 8) and an issue of Studies in English Literature. In 2002, Clark and Erskine-Hill produced an edited volume on Johnson's political views.
Clark is now primarily interested in the history of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and his chief achievement is the reintroduction of a religious dimension into the agendas formerly set by positivist, functionalist
Structural functionalism
Structural functionalism is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions...
and reductionist historians.
Major publications
- The Dynamics of Change: the Crisis of the 1750s and English Party Systems (Cambridge: 1982). ISBN 0-521-23830-7.
- English Society, 1688-1832: Ideology, Social Structure, and Political Practice During the Ancien Regime (Cambridge: 1985). ISBN 0-521-30922-0; 2nd (revised) ed. English Society 1660-1832: Religion, Ideology and Politics During the Ancien Regime (Cambridge: 2000). cited as 'Clark, English Society.' ISBN 0-521-66180-3.
- Revolution and Rebellion: State and Society in England in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Cambridge: 1986). cited as 'Clark, Revolution and Rebellion.' ISBN 0-521-33063-7.
- Editor, The Memoirs and Speeches of James, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, 1742-1763 (Cambridge: 1988). ISBN 0-521-36111-7.
- Editor, Ideas and Politics in Modern Britain (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1990). ISBN 0-333-51551-X.
- The Language of Liberty, 1660-1832: Political Discourse and Social Dynamics in the Anglo-American World (Cambridge: 1994). cited as 'Clark, Language of Liberty.' ISBN 0-521-44957-X.
- Samuel Johnson: Literature, Religion, and English Cultural Politics from the Restoration to Romanticism (Cambridge:1994). ISBN 0-521-47304-7.
- "British America: What If There Had Been No American Revolution?," in Virtual History, ed. Niall FergusonNiall FergusonNiall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
(New York: Basic Books, 1997;1999), pp. 125–74. ISBN 0333647289. - Co-editor, Samuel Johnson in Historical Context, co-editor: Howard Erskine-Hill (New York: Palgrave, 2002). ISBN 0-333-80447-3.
- Editor, Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France: a Critical Edition (Stanford: 2001). ISBN 0-8047-3923-4.
- Our Shadowed Present: Modernism, Postmodernism and History (London: Atlantic Books, 2003). ISBN 1-84354-122-X.
Further reading
- Innes, Joanna. "Jonathan [J.C.D.] Clark, Social History and England's 'Ancien Regime'," Past and Present no.115(May 1987), 165-200. (Reviewed work: English Society, 1688-1832.)
- Pocock, J.G.A. "1660 and All That: Whig-Hunting, Ideology and Historiography in the Work of Jonathan Clark," Cambridge Review 108,2(Oct. 1987), 125-128.
- Black, Jeremy. "On Second Thoughts: England's 'Ancien Regime'?" History Today 38,3(March 1988), 43-51.
- Sharpe, K.M., Kishlansky, Mark A., Dickinson, H.T. "Symposium: Revolution and Revisionism," Parliamentary History 7,2(1988), pp. 328–338.
External links
- J.C.D. Clark.
- Review of English Society 1660-1832: Religion, Ideology and Politics during the Ancien Régime.
- Reappraisals in History: English Society 1688-1832: Ideology, Social Structure and Political Practice During the Ancien Régime.
- Review of Our Shadowed Present: Modernism, Postmodernism and History.