Once regarded as a nation central to the development of civil society, associational activity in contemporary Britain is perceived by some authors as fragile. Whereas the urban leadership provided by the middle classes was crucial to the trajectory and character of towns and cities all over Britain in the nineteenth century, it has been claimed that their relocation to suburbia has become synonymous with detachment, disinterest and the decline of the associational sphere. Depicted in literary and historical accounts, as well as in the popular media, as pursuing a suburban lifestyle that was both monotonous and disengaged, the middle classes of the twentieth century were assumed to have relinquished the management of a multitude of municipal and voluntary functions that defined an urban place. Yet such accounts stereotyped middle-class lifestyles, oversimplifying their relationship with the city, and prompting a ‘new wave’ of suburban research in America that has offered a revisionism that stresses diversity and challenges prevailing assumptions regarding middle-class behaviour. Assumptions of suburban detachment are contested in the research that underpins this study. The thesis ‘Semi-Detached Britain? Social networks in the suburban fringe of Leicester and Loughborough, 1950-2005’ provides a detailed analysis of social and cultural networks and reviews the consequences of relocation on civic engagement since 1950. Geographically the middle classes may have distanced their home lives from the urban centre, but through an examination of their participation in the associational sphere of clubs and societies it is evident that suburban living was not synonymous with disinterest and detachment. Furthermore, analysis of cultural changes post 1950, including the issue of conservation, the shifting nature of gender relations, and the process of racial assimilation, reveal how voluntary organisations, and their middle-class membership, continued to shape the physical, spatial and cultural landscape of modern Britain. Through the intricate networks of power developed in local clubs and societies, the middle-classes found a continuing utility in the transference of knowledge and expertise, often working as mediator between the citizen and the state. Far from being disconnected, the new ‘suburbans’ were ‘semi-detached’, demonstrating a vigorous and ongoing commitment to the public sphere that contributed to the stock of social and civic capital in both town and city. In this regard the thesis provides a revisionism concerning the middle classes, suburbanisation, and the construction of civil society in the modern era.

Denna rapport syftar till att presentera, hur ledare och lärare inom fritidsverksamhet bland barn och ungdomar, anser att ett framgångsrikt arbete kan och bör utformas, samt vilka mekanismer som de anser kan vara av betydelse för resultatet.   Undersökningen är baserad på kvalitativa intervjuer med sex ledare inom fritidsverksamhet - musikskola samt idrotts- och friluftsföreningar - av varierande storlek och omfattning. Undersökningen refererar också till befintlig forskning om föreningsliv såsom fritidsvane-undersökningar, idéprogram samt analyser av föreningsliv och ungdomar.   Resultatet visar bl.a. att social fostran anses vara centralt för ett lyckat arbete och detta ligger också till grund för en stor del av de verksamheter som undersökts. Andra faktorer såsom föräldrar och kompisar har också stark inverkan på resultatet, då de å ena sidan har stor betydelse vid medlemsrekrytering, och å andra sidan bär upp ett pedagogiskt ansvar.   Resultatet visar även att organisationerna delar en gemensam problematik kring ett minskat medlemsantal, främst bland ungdomar i de senare tonåren, där de också tycks sakna strategier för hur man ska kunna nå dessa ungdomar. / The aim of this study is to map out and present how leaders and teachers in extracurricular activities think that their work should be designed for success and what mechanisms they see as significant to the outcome. The investigation is based on qualitative interviews with six leaders in leisure activities such as municipal music school, sports and leisure clubs of varying size and scope. The study also refers to existing research on clubs and societies, for instance, studies on recreational habits, policies and leisure time activities.   The result shows that social education is considered to be central to a sense of job satisfaction and this is also the basis for a great part of the activities studied. Other factors such as parents and friends also have strong influence on the outcome as they play a part in the recruitment as well as the instruction.   The result also shows that the organizations share common concerns regarding membership reduction, particularly in the number of young adults, a category for which they also seem to lack strategies for attracting.

Modern freemasonry emerged in Britain during the eighteenth century, combining earlier stonemason customs and methods of organization with the popular passion for clubs and societies. Although by no means unique in its ideology and constitution, freemasonry established itself after 1700 as a prominent fixture in both British communal and social life. Some mocked masonic lodges and their rituals, but they were an accepted feature on the social scene and, given that they avoided political and religious discussion and swore loyalty to the existing regime, their position was largely uncontroversial. The French Revolution, however, caused a severe backlash against the masons in Britain and Europe. During the 1790s, masonic lodges which were once viewed simply as charitable and convivial organizations were now seen as convenient vehicles for allowing radical groups to pursue covert revolutionary activities. As a result, legislation was passed which attempted to regulate these societies and eradicate any traces of secrecy. Despite its commitment to the establishment, freemasonry came under suspicion. This thesis examines the structure, nature, and characteristics of Scottish freemasonry in its wider British and European contexts between the years 1725 and 1810. As we shall see, masonic lodges and their members changed and adapted as these contexts evolved. The Enlightenment effectively crafted the modern mason and propelled freemasonry into a new era marked by increasing membership and the creation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, with the institution becoming part of the contemporary fashion for associated activity.

The 1760's and 1770's saw the emergence of numerous clubs, orders and societies in Stockholm. One of the most extraordinary expressions of this phenomenon was Carl Michael Bellman's Bacchi Orden, a series of semi-public dramatic entertainments chronicling the exploits of the members of Bacchi Orden, a fictional society enrolling several of Stockholm's most notorious drunkards and dedicated to the celebration of Bacchus. Bellman's parodic perspective stands in marked contrast to the self-professed virtuous undertakings of Stockholm's contemporary clubs and orders, whose members were recruited from the social and economic elites and professional and artisanal classes. The main purpose of the dissertation was to study the ceremonial rhetorical practices of Bacchi Orden - speeches, processions and other features designed to enhance the members' loyalty to the society's chosen ideal - and compare them to similar rhetorical traits in several orders and societies of the era in Stockholm to understand what made Bellman's parody work as an entertainment. The dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter introduces Bacchi Orden as a parodic and dramatic work and the eighteenth-century associations as cultural and social institutions. The second chapter outlines the use of ceremonial rhetoric in a number of orders and societies in Stockholm contemporary with Bacchi Orden. Through a combined chronological and thematic approach, the third chapter examines recurring rhetorical patterns in Bellman's parody and the rhetorical implications these patterns might have signaled to his audicence. The ceremonial rhetorical practices of Bacchi Orden may be interpreted as parodying rhetorical commonplaces occuring in all the examined orders' pledges to uphold certain virtues for the benefit of the Swedish nation. This system of virtues - with moderation, patriotism and diligence as cornerstones - is put to parodic use in Bacchi Orden through the different breaches of decorum Bellman allows his characters to act out in their doomed endeavors to combine ceremonial protocol and severe intoxication. As a contrast, friendly and frank companionship among the selected few is the one positive virtue that Bellman's audience can infer from his mock-society. This particular tenet became central to subsequent social clubs, which used Bellman's fiction as a template for their ceremonies.