Subversion and Scurrility: Popular Discourse in Europe from 1500 to the Present

A collection of 12 essays which examine a range of illicit or subversive discourses in European societies from the 16th century to the present. The contributors look at a variety of modes of popular expression, including anonymous speech (rumour, gossip, scandal and threats), slander and defamation, political literature and theatre, popular humour, "anti-propaganda" (prints, posters, cartoons and graffiti). The principal focus of the book is the responses of popular opinion to political events. Topics range from the reshaping of belief during the Reformation to popular responses to state propaganda in 20th-century dictatorships.