A Review Of Thompson's "History Of The British Working Class"

The British Marxist scholar Edward Thompson introduced cultural research method in historical research.Then,he summarized the history of the formation of the British working class.He described the experience of the British working class from various perspectives such as traditional habits,religious schools and living conditions,expounded the independence of the British working class.Through the activism movement,Thompson proposed that the British working class has the power of self-liberation.This article attempts to explore the basic nature of Thompson's historical theory and the uniqueness of the research method by summarizing the formation of the British working class.By understanding the historical background of the formation of the British working class from the 18 th century to the early 19 th century,this article attempts to analyze Edward Thompson's method.At the end of this article,we summarize the value and significance of Edward Thompson's theory.