Dear colleagues
We have now received submissions for the 'Digging the Seam' conference at
the University of Leeds, March 25th to 27th 2010, and have responded in most
cases. With the Christmas break, we are still to contact some people.
Similarly, if some people still have to contact us, please do so as soon as
possible. Registration details will be announced shortly.
The conference is organised by The Louis Le Prince Centre for Photography,
Film & Television (LLP) and the Media Industries Research Centre (MIRC) at the
Institute of Communications Studies (ICS), University of Leeds.
Introduction and Themes
March 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the end of one of the bitterest
industrial disputes in living memory, the 1984/5 miners’ strike. The social and
political consequences of this dispute, which have resonated for the past
quarter century, have been subject to detailed analysis and reflection. The
consequences for the arts and popular culture are less clearly mapped. This
conference intends to explore the broad cultural legacy of the strike and will
now focus on three key strands:
The first will examine the broad range of ‘mainstream’ published cultural texts
of the strike, together with the context of broader mining culture, in all media.
How wasthe miner represented from the perspective of different cultural
producers (BBC, ITN etc).
The second will examine the relationship between the strike and alternative
cultural production. How have non-mainstream cultural producers (e.g. Amber
Films) responded to the strike and its legacy?
The third will look at cultural memory of the strike and its operation 25 years
on.
Suggested themes
Possible contributions could include:
Culture and Industrial identity/Political theatre/ Folk traditions/ Music and the
cultural impact of the strike/New documentary traditions in film and
photography/Cultural re-orientation and the strike/ Arts therapy and
reconciliation/Storytelling and testimony/ Cultural industries as new
employers? /Digital resources and the strike/Archives and the re-constructions
of cultural memory/ The impact of the strike on media cultures/The political
novel/ Poetry and protest/ Culture as memory.
We are also seeking proposals for screenings, performance, and art works for
exhibition.
Abstracts (250 words max) should be sent, as soon as possible to the
organising committee at:
Email: [log in to unmask]
Or mail to: Dr Eleri Pound, Digging the Seam Conference, Institute of
Communications Studies, 16 Clarendon Place, The University of Leeds, Leeds,
LS2 9JT, UK
Further information and enquiries to Ian Macdonald, at
[log in to unmask] (00 44 (0)113 343 5816)
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