Research Perspectives on Students in Britain and Ireland, 1800-1945

Historians of Britain and Ireland have long been interested in universities and students. They have acknowledged the importance of these institutions and individuals within the history of elites, the history of the state, intellectual history, the history of science, of social movements and of politics and political thought. Yet, for many years much of this research has centred around higher education institutions themselves rather than the student body that they cater for. Following the expansion of the higher education sector and the growth of the student movement in the 1960s the quantity and quality of literature on British and Irish students, rather than the institutions that they studied at, has grown substantially and has become a burgeoning historical field. This article surveys the development of this historiography and the key research perspectives on students in Britain and Ireland from 1800-1945, focusing on five thematic areas: student culture, student representation and politics, student life during war, students race and empire, and student women – to track the progress, development and connections between the different strands of this historiography over the past fifty years and to offer insights into potential avenues for further research.