The eighteenth century witnessed the proliferation of voluntary associations throughout the British-Atlantic world. These voluntary associations consisted of groups of men with common interests, backgrounds, or beliefs that were willing to pool their resources in order to achieve a common goal. Enlightenment Scotland was home to large numbers of clubs ranging from small social clubs to large national institutions. The records of these societies suggest that most, if not all, of the men who formed them believed that defining and performing Scottish identity was important to preserving the social and cultural traditions of Scottishness in the absence of state institutions. These patriotic associations followed Scots across the Atlantic and provided the model for similar clubs in the American colonies. This thesis examines the construction and performance of Scottish identity by Scottish clubs in Scotland and America from c.1750-1832. It, in contrast to the existing historiography of Scottish identity, asserts that associations were vehicles through which Scottish identity was constructed, expressed, and performed on both sides of the Atlantic. It demonstrates that clubs provided Scots with the tools to manufacture identities that were malleable enough to adapt within a wide variety of political and cultural environments. This was particularly important in a period that witnessed major political disruption in the shape of the American and French Revolutions. By directly comparing Scottish societies in both Scotland and America, the thesis also reassesses and revises common attitudes about the relationship between Scottish identities at home and in the wider diaspora. Often seen as distinct entities, this thesis emphasises the similarities in the construction of Scottish identity, even in divergent national contexts. Drawing on a variety of sources ranging from rulebooks, minute books, and published transactions to memoirs, newspaper articles, letters, and even material goods, this thesis reveals that the Scottish identity constructed and performed by associations in America was no less ‘Scottish’ than that formulated in Scotland, indeed it paralleled and built upon the practices and attitudes developed in the home country. It rested on the same foundation, yet followed a different political trajectory as a result of the differing environment in which it was expressed and the different communities of Scots that expressed it. Indeed, the comparison between Scottish clubs in Scotland and America demonstrates that modern Scottish identity is the creation of a diasporic, transnational Scottish experience.

In late-eighteenth-century Dublin, options were limited for an expanding reading public who wished to consult quality printed works. During this period of the Anglican Ascendancy, membership to institutional libraries or participation in associational activities was largely limited to elites and those from the Established Church. The Dublin Library Society provided a public reference library service without restrictions of confession, connection, elections, or status—with admission based only on ability to pay the initial two-guinea charge (and one thereafter). Using hitherto neglected primary sources, particularly contemporary newspapers, this thesis will examine the origins of the Dublin Library, public reaction towards it, and its position promoting cultural patriotism and inclusivity in public library service provision in late-eighteenth-century Dublin. Also, a detailed prosopographical analysis of the library’s founding subscribers, specifically for their occupational backgrounds and associational activities, will show that the library represented a cross-section of Dublin’s reading public and help identify the social and cultural milieu in the capital. Through a combination of historical and prosopographical research on the library and its members, this study aims to contribute to both library history and the wider fields of social, cultural, and urban history of Dublin. The library was founded amidst a backdrop of Irish patriotism evidenced by the achievement of legislative independence from Britain. Dubliners expressed their patriotism through participation in clubs and societies that promoted Irish cultural, commercial, political, and social improvement and self-sufficiency. Further Enlightenment ideals of toleration and intellectual cultivation were embodied in these associations. By the end of this examination, the Dublin Library Society will be regarded not only as significant in the expansion of Dublin’s literary public sphere, but also a noteworthy location of the Irish Enlightenment in the capital.

Submitted by ANA KARLA PEREIRA RODRIGUES (anakarla_@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-13T13:44:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2306772 bytes, checksum: 7de98a9e51516a9c44f57def3e8e9114 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-13T13:44:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2306772 bytes, checksum: 7de98a9e51516a9c44f57def3e8e9114 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study seeks to analyze the workers' associations in the Parahyba do Norte in the period between 1881 and 1930. These workers who lived through in the period the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century in the capital of Parahyba organized politically through mutual aid associations. From this analysis we seek to understand how the working class developed its class identity through relationships, through the associative culture present in the formation of this process. For this, in the introduction, we made a brief overview of the history of work, highlighting the need to study the associational life. At another time of the dissertation, we show how the economic policy and aesthetic exercised in the process of modernization of the capital has affected the living conditions of the working class, we also did the mapping of the associations founded in the period. Then we insert the associations in the scenario presented and observe its workings. Finally, we analyze the case of the Sociedade de Artistas e Operarios Mechanicos e Liberais, where we highlight the process of institutionalizing the relationship with the world of politics and the state. As theoretical foundation we used the referential of Social History English, we use various sources such as: book of minutes, government reports, almanacs and newspapers. The selected documentation allowed to understand how the associations effectively marked the life of the working class in the capital of Parahyba. / Este trabalho visa analisar o associativismo mutualista dos trabalhadores na Parahyba do Norte no período compreendido entre 1881 e 1910. Estes sujeitos históricos que viveram o período do fim do século XIX e os primeiros anos do século XX na capital da Parahyba se organizaram politicamente por meio de sociedades que previam o auxílio mútuo. A partir dessa análise buscamos compreender como a classe trabalhadora desenvolveu a identidade de classe em meio as suas relações, tendo em vista a cultura associativa presente na formação desse processo. Para isso, ainda na introdução fizemos um breve percurso da historiografia do trabalho, salientando a necessidade de estudar a vida associativa. Nos outros momentos da dissertação, apresentamos como à política econômica e estética exercida no processo de modernização da capital afetou as condições de vida da classe trabalhadora, onde também mapeamos as sociedades fundadas no período trabalhado. Em seguida, inserimos as associações no cenário apresentado e observamos os seus funcionamentos. Por último, analisamos o caso da Sociedade de Artistas e Operários Mecânicos e Liberais, onde destacamos o seu processo de institucionalização, a relação com o mundo da política e o Estado. Como fundamentação teórica, utilizamos o referencial da História Social Inglesa e utilizamos diversas fontes como: livro de atas, relatórios de governos, almanaque e jornais. A documentação selecionada permitiu compreender como o associativismo marcou efetivamente a vida da classe trabalhadora na capital da Parahyba.

Few people know that the first sessions of the General Assembly of the UN in 1946 were held in a place of worship - Westminster Central Hall. It was part of an ambitious construction programme, initiated by the Wesleyan Methodists, which resulted in Central Halls in most British cities. They were, and in some cases still are, flexible, multi-functional spaces used on a daily basis for a wide range of purposes. They are widely perceived as public space but they are also sacred - camouflaged churches, created as sites for missionary activity and social outreach by a faith which from its origins has challenged the dichotomy between sacred and secular space. They have never been systematically studied – even their number and locations were unknown. This thesis tells their story by presenting them as an undocumented building type of social and cultural significance. It explores the concept of building type and the dimensions of social and cultural analysis that may be explored with the method. The typological approach is then demonstrated with a specific monographic focus on Methodist Central Halls from the 1880s to the present. Using a combination of visual methods, archival research and personal testimony, the analysis offers insights into the many aspects of Methodism through the long twentieth century – the church’s spatial distribution, its modes of mission and worship, its cultural identity and its business model. These centrally located assembly halls with their landmark architecture are for many towns still the top venues for meeting and entertainment. The typology of such public sacred spaces is not only a chapter in the history of British cities but provides findings of wide interest for religion and society.