Division of Social Studies Events

Dominic Sandbrook, one of Britain’s most distinguished historians and popular broadcasters, will talk about Britain in the Eighties. “The story of these years is bitterly contested,” he has written. “There is no consensus about the 1980s and there never will be.” From the conservative revolution and inner-city riots, to Princess Diana, Chariots of Fire and multiculturalism, this was a time of great cultural originality, political ambition and controversy, and wide scale social change—and all set to a soundtrack by The Specials, Bananarama, and The Clash. This event is part of the Eugene Meyer Series established in 2010.

Dominic Sandbrook is one Britain's best and best-known historians. Educated at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, he taught at the University of Sheffield before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of eight books, including five volumes of a bestselling and critically acclaimed history of Britain from the 1960s to the 1980s. He has presented numerous BBC documentaries and is co-host of The Rest is History—the most popular history podcast in the world. He is currently working on an opera about Margaret Thatcher with the composer Joseph Phibbs.