On February 3, 2024, Edward Palmer Thompson would have turned 100. The British historian's impact on social historiography cannot be underestimated. His The Making of the English Working Class (1963) remains a fundamental reference work for any historian concerned with the working class. As a founder of the New Left, Thompson sharply criticized the deterministic theories of both liberals and communists. Instead, he placed the worker himself at the center of his work: "the extent to which he contributed, through conscious effort, to the making of history."
Historians couldn't let this remarkable milestone pass them by. The Laboratory for Studies in History of the Worlds of Labor (part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) mapped Thompson's far-reaching impact with a special online dossier . Professor Paulo Fontes and his team collected submissions from 21 authors of 13 different nationalities, each describing their own encounters with Thompson's work, or with the man himself, in a short text. Our own research associate Fady Labib also contributed with a text about Thompson's impact on working hours .
Of course, this isn't the end of the story for this fascinating historian. The project will continue to add submissions throughout the year. Anyone who feels inspired to write their own contribution can contact Paulo Fontes .
