IIPC Debate 23
Professor Peter Clark (University of Helsinki):
Issues of Cultural Diffusion in Europe in the Long 18th Century
This paper looks to compare and contrast the accelerators and
constraints-affecting the performance and dissemination of two
important new forms of cultural and leisure activity during the Long Eighteenth Century:
the first, clubs and societies , and the second new style commercial
sports. Using mainly data from the freemasons, we see how voluntary
associations became widely dispersed across Europe though with i
mportant and illuminating local variations. By comparison new sports
made only limited impact outside England and more traditional games
continued to hold sway in much of Europe.So why?
