The importance of science and technology and future of education and research are just some of the subjects discussed here.

Ever since the scientist-turned-novelist C. P. Snow clashed with literary critic F. R. Leavis in the early 1960s, it has been a commonplace to lament that intellectual life is divided between 'two cultures', the arts and sciences. Yet why did a topic that had long been discussed inspire such ferocious controversy at this particular moment? This book answers that question by recasting this dispute as an ideological conflict between competing visions of Britain's past, present, and future. It then connects the controversy to simultaneous arguments about the mission of the university, the methodology of social history, the reasons for 'national decline', and the fate of the former empire. By excavating the political stakes of the 'two cultures' controversy, this book explains the workings of cultural politics during the 1960s more generally, while also revising the meaning of a term that continues to be evoked to this day.

This dissertation presents a cultural history of the "two cultures" debate in postwar Britain. At the dawn of the 1960s, the scientist-turned-novelist C. P. Snow clashed with the literary critic F. R. Leavis over the relative merits of science and literature, and the ensuing controversy propelled the "two cultures" to its current status as a touchstone in discussions of the sciences and the humanities. Yet it is not clear how an issue that had been discussed since the Victorians ignited such ferocious controversy in the mid-twentieth century. This dissertation argues that the familiar public dispute was actually animated by political rivalries. It therefore takes a new approach to the episode, using it as a lens through which to explore tensions between advocates and critics of modern civilization---tensions previously obscured by language of the "two cultures," but which are shown to have animated seemingly disparate disputes over the mission of the university, the methodology of social history, and the meaning of national "decline." By excavating the political dimensions of the "two cultures," then, this dissertation explores the stakes of post-war cultural politics more generally, while recasting the meaning of a term that continues to be invoked to interpret British and American culture to this day.

This dissertation presents a cultural history of the "two cultures" debate in postwar Britain. At the dawn of the 1960s, the scientist-turned-novelist C. P. Snow clashed with the literary critic F. R. Leavis over the relative merits of science and literature, and the ensuing controversy propelled the "two cultures" to its current status as a touchstone in discussions of the sciences and the humanities. Yet it is not clear how an issue that had been discussed since the Victorians ignited such ferocious controversy in the mid-twentieth century. This dissertation argues that the familiar public dispute was actually animated by political rivalries. It therefore takes a new approach to the episode, using it as a lens through which to explore tensions between advocates and critics of modern civilization---tensions previously obscured by language of the "two cultures," but which are shown to have animated seemingly disparate disputes over the mission of the university, the methodology of social history, and the meaning of national "decline." By excavating the political dimensions of the "two cultures," then, this dissertation explores the stakes of post-war cultural politics more generally, while recasting the meaning of a term that continues to be invoked to interpret British and American culture to this day.

This eye-opening look at the intellectual culture of today--in which science, not literature or philosophy, takes center stage in the debate over human nature and the nature of the universe--is certain to spark fervent intellectual debate.

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