This is a book that is very different to most anniversary/institutional histories in that it takes a 'bottom-up' approach to its topic by focusing less on the elite decision-makers at Swansea University. One of the main take-home messages of the book is that university life involved, and still involves, many multi-layered paradoxes and contradictions. Conflicting ideas and behaviours can be witnessed simultaneously - as in life - and this fundamentally adds to the discussion surrounding what a university's purpose is. The book demonstrates how universities are complex and diverse places, and not just sites of academia and scholarship. The book's analysis rests on a foundation of oral history testimonies. This is not only an unusual approach to take but it ensures that the words, ideas and memories of those who lived the history permeate through the entire book. The oral testimonies also provide splashes of colour, humour and intrigue that you might not always find in an institutional account.
Swansea University: Campus and Community in a Post-War World, 1945-2020 marks Swansea University's centenary. It is a study of post- Second World War academic and social change in Britain and its universities, as well as an exploration of shifts in youth culture and the way in which higher education institutions have interacted with people and organisations in their regions. It covers a range of important themes and topics, including architectural developments, international scholars, the changing behaviours of students, protest and politics, and the multi-layered relationships that are formed between academics, young people and the wider communities of which they are a part. Unlike most institutional histories, it takes a 'bottom-up' approach and focuses on the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of people like students and non-academic staff who are normally sidelined in such accounts. As it does so, it utilises a large collection of oral history testimonies collected specifically for this book; and, throughout, it explores how formative, paradoxical and unexpected university life can be.
