Social and Cultural Change in Contemporary Wales

Book excerpt: Social and Cultural Change in Contemporary Wales (1978) draws together recent research specifically on Wales, to overcome the overly-English takes on the ‘social structure of modern Britain’. A pattern of relative social deprivation is outlined, and such symptoms of this deprivation as second home ownership, school closure, economic peripheralism and inadequate social services become the marker of Wales’ marginality. The cultural marker of note is the Welsh language, several of the papers discussing its erosion and the steps taken to preserve and maintain it. While ethnicity serves as an integrating force, there are also divisions based upon class, which are discussed.