King Lear to In the loop : fiction and British politics

Abstract

On 11 December 2009, Nottingham University's Centre for British Politics held a conference at the British Academy that drew together politicians, writers and academics to explore the interaction of British politics and fiction.

In addition to the conference several video interviews were conducted with some of the speakers on the day.

In this interview taken at the Fiction and British Politics Conference in London, academic and director of the Centre for British Politics, Professor Steven Fielding, talks about the fascination with politics by writers and filmmakers.

Suitable for Undergraduate study and community education

Professor Steven Fielding, School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Steven Fielding is Professor of Political History and Director of the Centre for British Politics: CBP at The University of Nottingham and is an expert on The Labour Party. He is currently working on a commissioned documentary for BBC Radio 4 on the media portrayal of the Labour Party under Tony Blair.

Professor Fielding is particularly focused on the fraught relationship between politicians and the society they represent in Parliament. He is also researching the fictional representation of politics in Britain and the US, focusing in part on novels, film and television from Anthony Trollope to ’The West Wing’ and ’The Thick Of It’.

The Centre for British Politics is based in the University's School of Politics and International Relations. www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics/cbp