Dear all,
How do we make sure that political events are recorded factually for future
generations? Who ensures that individuals do not remake history to portray
themselves in a good light? On 12 November, a conference organised by The
School of Advanced Study and The National Archives will address these
issues. The press release below gives the details.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best wishes,
Siobhan Wakely
The National Archives
020 83925277
Unleashing the Archive
12 November 2004
How do we make sure that political events are recorded factually for future
generations? Who ensures that individuals do not remake history to portray
themselves in a good light? On 12 November journalist Richard Norton-Taylor
will be discussing the importance of records in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry
and Orange Prize-winning novelist Andrea Levy will talk about her personal
experiences of archives. Unleashing the Archive, a FREE conference
organised by the School of Advanced Study of the University of London and
The National Archives in Kew, aims to promote the historical importance of
archives.
Andrea Levy, commenting on her experiences with archives said:
'I can still remember the look of fear on the archivists' faces when I
breezed in and said "Just point me to your boxes - I'll have a good rummage
through."
'Archives - comprising personal texts detailing everyday activities and
emotions, as well as the formal records of government, businesses and other
organisations - play a part in all our lives'
'For thousands of years they have contributed to maintaining continuity in
human affairs. Yet archives are not simply repositories of collective
memory. Without archives there would be no propaganda. At the same time
they support the search for justice and truth.'
says Nicholas Mann, Dean of the School of Advanced Study and Pro
Vice-Chancellor of the University of London.
Sarah Tyacke, Chief Executive of The National Archives said:
'In many parts of the world there is now a more widespread engagement with
archives than ever before, as people seek to construct stories and
explanations about themselves and the world in which they live. Archives
offer limitless opportunities for exploration and discovery and are striking
the imagination in new ways.'
The conference addresses these issues in four sessions:
* Archives as evidence - using the Bloody Sunday Inquiry as an
example
* Archive and Epic - addressing the way in which many of the
great works that shape national identity are created using archives
* Archives as personal exploration - contrasting biographers
and novelists' use of archives to explore the experiences of individuals
* Archives as constructions and manipulations - contrasting
they way archives were created and interpreted in the ancient world to the
present day
Artwork, by two artists* who have a close involvement with archives, will
also be revealed at the conference.
Unleashing the Archive is one of a series of events being held in 2004-5 to
celebrate the tenth anniversary of the University of London's School of
Advanced Study.
The conference will be held at Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1. It
is FREE, but reservations must be made in advance. To book please contact
Olwen Myhill on [log in to unmask] or 020 7862 8790
Notes for editors:
* The School of Advanced Study brings together the scholarship
and resources of eight prestigious postgraduate research institutes of the
University of London in the humanities and social sciences. Its subject
areas include history; law; classics and the classical tradition; English,
Germanic and Romance studies; and studies of the Commonwealth and the
Americas. For more information please go to <http://www.sas.ac.uk/>
* The National Archives (TNA) in Kew, west London, was formed
in 2003 by bringing together the Public Record Office and the Historical
Manuscripts Commission. TNA is an associate member of the School, and is
strengthening its links with the academic research community. But it seeks
also to stimulate wider awareness of, and support for, archives as a
nationwide resource on which people in many different walks of life can draw
for information, learning and inspiration. For more information please
contact Siobhan Wakely in The National Archives' press office
[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or 020 8392 5277
* During the conference there will be a display of video works
by the artists Ruth Maclennan and Uriel Orlow. Ruth Maclennan was artist in
residence in the archives of the Library at the London School of Economics
in 2001-2002. Uriel Orlow was artist in residence at the Wiener Library in
London in 2000-1. They each made videos of interviews with the archivists,
and in very different ways, they address questions of memory retrieval,
structures of organisation, and institutional control.Tenth Anniversary
Conference 12 November 2004
School of Advanced Study, University of London and The National Archives
'Unleashing the Archive'
PROGRAMME
The conference aims to open up new thinking about the cultural and historic
significance of archives and their use.
Friday 12 November 2004
Introduction
9.30 - 9.50 a.m.
Speakers:
Nicholas Mann, Dean of the School of Advanced Study and Pro Vice-Chancellor
of the University of London
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers
Ruth Maclennan and Uriel Orlow 'Artists and the Archive'
Session 1. Archive and Epic
9.50 -11.05 a.m.
Archives and archiving in forging epics of group experience and identity
chair: Nicholas Mann (School of Advanced Study)
Alan Thacker (Institute of Historical Research), 'Bede and the creation of
an English epic'
Louise Craven (The National Archives), 'Epic, group identity and the archive
in the modern world'
Commentary: David Bates (Director, Institute of Historical Research)
Discussion.
11.05-11.30 Coffee
Session 2. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry: Archives as Evidence
11.30 -12.45
Different approaches to the task of establishing 'truth'
chair: Sarah Tyacke (The National Archives)
Paul Bew (Queen's University Belfast), 'The historian's view'
Richard Norton Taylor, 'The journalist's view'
Cathryn McGahey, 'The lawyer's view'
Commentary: Pat Thane (Institute of Historical Research)
Dicussion
12.45-2.00 p.m. lunch
Session 3. Archives as personal exploration:
2.00 - 3.15 p.m.
Contrasting approaches to the use of archives in writing about both 'the
everyday' and the 'heroic individual'
chair: Warwick Gould (Institute of English Studies)
Biographer: Katrina Dean (Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol),
'Biographical actors: on reading the scientific archive'
Novelist Andrea Levy (winner of the Orange Prize), 'Archives, fiction and
autobiography'
Commentary: Peter Mandler (University of Cambridge)
Discussion
3.15-3.30 p.m. Tea
Session 4 Archives as constructions and manipulations.
3.30 - 4.45 p.m.
The session will explore the political and cultural functions of archives in
the ancient world as compared with their counterparts now
chair: Derek Keene (Institute of Historical Research)
Charlotte Roueché (King's College London), 'The ancient world: inscribing
archives on stone'
Richard Cox (University of Pittsburgh), 'Archiving archives in the modern
world: rethinking and revitalizing a Concept'
Commentary: Michael Moss (University of Glasgow)
Discussion
This will lead into a General Debate, with all speakers forming a panel
chaired by Derek Keene (approximately 4.45 - 5.15 pm)
5.15 p.m (approx.)
Sarah Tyacke, 'Final remarks'
5.30 pm (approx.). Reception.
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