New lives, new landscapes: rural modernism in 20th century Britain

The conference theme is ‘rural modernism’ and its proceedings will focus on the impact new forms of technology and technological networks had on rural environments and societies in 20th-century Britain. The post-1945 decades in particular were a period of technological innovation and expansion, with new networks of energy, communication and leisure facilities that had far-reaching social, economic, political and cultural impacts. Although these changes are often associated with the modernisation of urban life, the structures and technology for energy, communication and science were situated in rural environments. Serious attempts were often made to naturalise new structures within the landscape through careful site design, visual planning and landscaping, generating complex responses by local inhabitants. Initial resistance to the visual impact this material had on the landscape could shift to acceptance and, in time, attachment, generating new conceptions of rural heritage. In this way, attitudes towards rural modernism provide a striking example of shifting baseline syndrome. But more than this. Not only did the networks created by new infrastructure - electrical, television, motoring - transpose the local with the national and even international, but they could also create new forms of regional identity, as the politics of regional television and radio broadcasting exemplified. Main aims: 1. To connect scholars working on aspects of how modernity was experienced in rural environments and settings in the 20th century, particularly in the post-WWII period. 2. To develop the distinctive theme of ‘rural modernism’ as a way of understanding the social, economic, political and cultural impact of technology in rural environments. 3. To establish a narrative and critical analysis of rural modernism, and to challenge the predominant focus of 20th century historians on the urban history of the modern