The most recent volume of the German Yearbook of Contemporary History focuses on cultures of conservatism in Western Europe, particularly the United Kingdom. It is especially interested in the transnational and transatlantic traffic in ideas, culture, and lifestyles between Europe and the United States in the final decades of the twentieth century. The first two contributions, “‘Abolish Economists!’: The Britcom Yes Minister and the Transformation of British Conservatism in the Thatcher Era” and “Thatcherism and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Musicals” by Nikolai Wehrs and Amanda Eubanks Winker explore the relationship between Thatcherism and culture. Similarly, In another twinning, Martina Steber and Tobias Becker study “John Rutter, Popular Classical Music, and Transnational Conservatism since the 1970s” and “Rock Music and Cultures of Conservatism“. The volume is rounded off with an article on “‘Gay Equals Left?’: Conservatism in Male Homosexual Politics in 1970s West Germany and the United States” by Craig Griffiths.

Tobias Becker

Tobias Becker is a lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin who has published widely on the history of popular culture since the 1800s. His books include "Inszenierte Moderne. Populäres Theater in Berlin und London, 1880-1930" (2014) "Yesterday: A New History of Nostalgia" (2023) and "Popular Culture in Europe since 1800" (2023; written with Len Platt).

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