Documentation of Workshop 1 (April 2008)
Research Theme 4: History/Memory
Members:
Sefryn Penrose (WS Atkins), Steven Shaw (London Metropolitan University), Layla Renshaw (Kingston University)
Synopsis of Group's Discussions:
Proposed research would include investigation by triangulating evidence of oral testimony, archives and physical remains. This would operate at different scales: the macro-scale of global conflict and intangible aspects of communications, creativity, culture of machine-like organizations and so on; the meso-scale of the site of BP; and the micro-scale of evidence from remains. We'd also like to investigate interpretation and representation of BP with reference to how visitors (or indeed non-visitors) currently experience it, and how BP might be re-presented to diverse audiences, especially: people with personal/ family connections; enthusiasts; people who are curious, international visitors who may be any of these. First thoughts regarding aims of the research would include:
1. To explore the place of civilian mobilization and experience in the heritage of military conflict, especially the voices of women;
2. To analyse the impact of the Official Secrets Act on transmission (or non-transmission) of memory in the context of 1);
3. To investigate 2)in terms of the construct of the UK as a secret or open society compared with other nation states in the post-war era;
4. To assess what cannot be easily conveyed - intangibles such as radio-waves, cognitive functions, extreme pressure on individuals - and consider appropriate means of conveying them;
5. To examine the metaphor and paradox of the human organization of BP as a computer and its physical expression through the plan-form, using the triangulation of methods outlined above.
