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David Swift (author)

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English writer, and historian
David Swift in 2022
Swift in 2022

David Swift (born 1987) is an English writer and historian.

Swift studied history at Girton College, University of Cambridge. His work focuses on left-wing activism and on different 'identities', such as class, race and gender. Swift has written for a variety of newspapers and periodicals including the New Statesman, Tribune (magazine), The Times, The Independent and UnHerd.

Swift's first book, a history of the British Left during the First World War, was described by reviewer Prof Peter Stansky as ‘an important contribution to the ever-fascinating subject of the history of the British left the development of the Labour party’.

Swift's second book, A Left for Itself, was the first analysis of 'political hobbyism' in the UK, and focused on what he termed 'performative radicalism' in the era of the internet and social media. It was heralded as a definitive analysis of the failure of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party at the 2019 United Kingdom general election.

In 2022 Swift published his third book, The Identity Myth, which interrogated common understandings of different 'identities' such as class, race, gender, and generation. It was a Next Big Idea Club finalist for 2022.

Works

  • For Class and Country: the Patriotic Left and the First World War (2017)
  • A Left for Itself: Left-wing Hobbyists and Performative Radicalism (2019)
  • The Identity Myth: Why We Need to Embrace our Differences to Beat Inequality (2022)

References

  1. "Speakers: David Swift". Battle of Ideas Festival.
  2. "The Identity Myth".
  3. "The Identity Myth".
  4. "David Swift, author at New Statesman". The New Statesman.
  5. "David Swift". Tribune. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. Swift, David. "Until they are willing to compromise, Corbynistas will remain hobbyists". The Times. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  7. "Author: David Swift". The Independent.
  8. "David Swift, a writer for UnHerd".
  9. Stansky, Peter (2018). "David Swift . For Class and Country: The Patriotic Left and the First World War". Journal of British Studies. 57 (2): 443–444. doi:10.1017/jbr.2018.50.
  10. "A Left for Itself". Zer0 Books.
  11. "'Today's leftists want to make politics all about themselves'".
  12. Bickerton, James (3 November 2019). "Middle-class Corbynite 'hobbyists' are pushing working-class out of Labour claims author". Daily Express.
  13. Swallow, Christian. "Protesting should be about wanting change, not for personal identity". Varsity. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  14. Aaronovitch, David. "A Left for Itself by David Swift review — why the Corbynistas got clobbered". The Times.
  15. The Identity Myth. Hachette. 16 August 2021. ISBN 9780349135335.
  16. Bloodworth, James. "The Identity Myth by David Swift review — identity politics... isn't it a bit racist?". The Times. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. Bloodworth, James (February 2022). "The Conservatives' levelling up love affair with the working class was over before it began". The New Statesman. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  18. "The Identity Myth: Why We Need to Embrace Our Differences to Beat Inequality". Next Big Idea Club.
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