The History of Reputation in Modern Britain, c. 1750-2000

FAIN: FEL-262407-19

Caroline E. Shaw
President and Trustees of Bates College (Lewiston, ME 04240-6028)

Publication of a book examining the history of defamation laws that protect reputation in Britain, in contrast to other modern democracies that champion the freedom of speech.

Freedom of expression has become a right. Yet, it is a qualified right that comes with responsibilities to respect the reputation of others. By the mid-20th century, the tension between the reputation and this freedom had become acute in Britain and her laws of defamation uniquely robust. Why? What can the history of this outlier tell us about the relationship between state, individuals, community, and the law? My project offers the first historical account of reputation and the law over the last two centuries. It examines intellectual debates over the quasi-right to reputation and the social life of the laws. It is in the relationship between these two strands, I contend, that we can better see the difficulties inherent in defining modern rights as between the state and the individual. In the defense of reputation, we see all too well the central role of communities that have given it shape and how those communities and their relationship to the law have changed over time.