Location
National Science and Media Museum (and online)
Call for Papers, deadline – 1 June 2022
Individual and panel applications are invited for The BBC at 100 symposium at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and online on 14-15 September 2022. This centenary symposium is sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council with the support of the National Science and Media Museum and Media History.
The symposium is interdisciplinary, inclusive and free to attend in-person or online. It aims
- to act as a gathering of the tribes, encompassing everyone from established scholars to postgraduates;
- to take stock of research about the past century of British broadcasting by scholars in history, media and cultural studies, literary criticism, music, technology and related fields;
- to explore what conceptual and logistical changes are needed to foster new directions in research and teaching;
- to bring together archivists and researchers to discuss how to expand access to BBC archival resources, especially audiovisual ones.
The symposium will feature two types of sessions: (a) workshops run by archivists on how to find, access and interpret primary sources on the BBC; and (b) roundtable discussions between four panel members and the audience (in-person and online) on the past, present and future of research on thematic topics concerning the BBC since 1922. Panel members will present five-minute position statements rather than formal papers in order to maximise discussion time.
Proposals for roundtables on any topic relating to the BBC over the past century are welcome, but those which are broad in scope and which maximise audience engagement will be prioritised owing to the limited number of available slots for sessions.
A mercifully short application form is available at https://tinyurl.com/bbc100form. The deadline for all applications is 11.59 p.m. on Wednesday 1 June and all applicants will be contacted by 8 June at the latest. Limited travel funding is available for postgraduate students on application
Any queries should be sent to Dr Marcus Collins, Reader in Contemporary History and AHRC BBC 100 Fellow (marcus.collins@lboro.ac.uk).