Foundations
In this opening lecture of the 2026 James Ford Lectures in British History, historian Peter Mandler examines how the language and concepts of the social sciences began to permeate everyday British life. As traditional religious frameworks for understanding the self declined, new analytical tools emerged to help people navigate modernity’s complexities.
This lecture sets the stage for the series by tracing the early development of these intellectual shifts and their impact on ordinary experience.
What to expect:
- 🧠How social‑scientific thinking entered everyday life
- đź“š The decline of older moral and religious vocabularies
- 🔍 New tools for understanding the self and society in modern Britain