A search for the underclass : a comparative study of cellar dwellers in Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Rochdale, 1861-1871
The concepts that lie behind my thesis are one of perception and reality â the perception of nineteenth century observers and the reality of the census returns. The perceptions drawn will relate to many aspects of the underclass. The aspects will include the ethnic background, the morality, the habitation and the danger posed by the underclass to the society in which they lived. I will also consider the perceived forces that lay behind the creation of such a class. In the first section, I will consider perceptions that have been drawn from a wide authorship. The authorship will include social novelists such as Disraeli and Elizabeth Gaskell, visitors to the north west of England - Kohl, de Tocqueville, Cook Taylor etc. I will also consider the perceptions of both newspaper reporters and professional enquirers. These works will cover a wide time scale - 1830s to 1890s. In this way we will be able to test whether the perceptions of the underclass changed, not only through authorship, but over time. The second section - the reality section - will be based primarily on the information contained within the census enumerators' handbooks for Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Rochdale for 1861 and 1871. Use will
Hayton, S.
HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform ; DA Great Britain ; Memory, Text and Place
A search for the underclass : a comparative study of cellar dwellers in Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Rochdale, 1861-1871. The concepts that lie behind my thesis are one of perception and reality â the perception of nineteenth century observers and the reality of the census returns. The perceptions drawn will relate to many aspects of the underclass. The aspects will include the ethnic background, the morality, the habitation and the danger posed by the underclass to the society in which they lived. I will also consider the perceived forces that lay behind the creation of such a class. In the first section, I will consider perceptions that have been drawn from a wide authorship. The authorship will include social novelists such as Disraeli and Elizabeth Gaskell, visitors to the north west of England - Kohl, de Tocqueville, Cook Taylor etc. I will also consider the perceptions of both newspaper reporters and professional enquirers. These works will cover a wide time scale - 1830s to 1890s. In this way we will be able to test whether the perceptions of the underclass changed, not only through authorship, but over time. The second section - the reality section - will be based primarily on the information contained within the census enumerators' handbooks for Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Rochdale for 1861 and 1871. Use will
search comparative_study dweller manchester concept lie_behind perception reality perception observer reality census_return perception draw relate many_aspect aspect include ethnic_background morality habitation danger pose society_live also_consider perceived force lay_behind creation class first_section consider perception draw_wide authorship authorship include social novelist elizabeth visitor north_west england cook taylor etc also_consider perception newspaper professional work cover_wide time scale way able test_whether perception change authorship time second_section reality section base_primarily information_contain within census enumerator handbook manchester use