Faculty of History
Dr Matt Myers
Departmental Lecturer in Modern European History
Balliol College
matt.myers@history.ox.ac.uk My research has been principally concerned with comparative and transnational history during the twentieth century. I have been especially interested in labour and its relationship to politics, society, and culture. This led me to work on the history of the left in Britain, France, and Italy from the 1960s to the 1990s, political economy and technological shocks, and post-colonial migration. I am currently working on a transnational history of water infrastructure.
Research Interests
- Comparative and transnational history
- History of labour and political economy
- History of water and public ownership
Publications
The Halted March of the European Left
The European left seemed to be in rude health during the 1970s. Never had so many political parties committed to representing the working class been in power simultaneously across the continent. New forms of mobilisation led by female, immigrant, and young wage-earners seemed to reflect the growing strength of the workers' movement rather than its pending obsolescence. Parties and trade unions grew rapidly as a diverse new generation entered the ranks. Why did the left's forward march halt so abruptly?