Gareth Williams

I am a historian, and my field is the social and cultural history of, industrial south Wales in the modern period. The historical analysis of any society will be deficient if it ignores that society’s characteristic forms of collective self-expression, and my publications and contributions to public history focus on the rich popular culture that emerged in the valleys of south Wales during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. A constant theme in my work, which draws on a wide range of sources in Welsh as well as English, is to demonstrate the significance of sport, especially rugby, and music, notably choral singing, as academic fields of serious scholarly study and components of a distinctive local, regional and national culture. 

Please see a selected list of my academic outputs below.