Forthcoming Military History Conferences/Lectures

Fascinating subject. Always saddened by the atrocities in Bosnia (rearing it's ugly head again in our era), Armenia (through the Turkish March) and many others. The psychology of man's inhumanity towards man, not to mention the entire environment. A thorough travesty.

 

Same here, Lou. Was recently told about a fascinating conference in the Czech Republic; if only I could win the lottery soon....

 

Gordon, is there a invitation process to attend that Chester one...I would be able to do that one and report back...Its 2014 not 2013 right?

 

It is 2014, Tam. No invitation process usually, just pay the fee, book your place and attend. If you contact them on that email address I posted they'll give you more details.
Did I mention there's usually a sit-down meal at these things?

 

I'lll give em a buzz then. Cheers Gordon.

 

WORKSHOP: AIRPOWER AND ARCHIVES

RAF Museum, Hendon, London

March 22 2013, 10.00 – 5.00

RAF Museum, Hendon and the Centre for the Study of War, State and Society, University of Exeter

This one day workshop will explore the archival holdings of the RAF Museum, and will reflect on the challenges presented by the academic history of airpower.

Programme

10.00 – Registration and coffee

10.30 – Welcome and introduction by the Director General of the RAF Museum, Peter Dye

10.45 – Introduction to the workshop, Professor Richard Overy (University of Exeter)

Session 1

11.00 – Martin Farr (Newcastle University) ‘The Politics of Bombing: Harris, Sinclair and the RAF Bomber Offensive’

11.30 – Trevor Stone (University of Exeter) ‘Small Margins: The Luftwaffe’s Failure to Exploit Intelligence Information on the RAF’s Supply Chain’

12.00 – Discussion

12.30 – LUNCH

Session 2

1.30 – Introduction to the Museum’s archive collections (Peter Elliott, Senior Keeper, RAF Musuem)

Introduction to the Museum’s visual images collections (Andrew Renwick, Curator of Photography, RAF Museum)

The archive collections of the Air Historical Branch (Sebastian Cox, Head of the Air Historical Branch MOD)

2.30 – Richard Overy (University of Exeter) ‘Air Power Archives: Problems and Perspectives’

3.00 – Discussion

3.30 – TEA

Session 3: Keynote Lecture

4.00 – Peter Gray (University of Birmingham) ‘A Culture of Official Squeamishness: the Air Ministry and the Bomber Offensive’

4.45 – Discussion and closing session

5.15 – CLOSE

Registration details can be found here:

Centre for the Study of War, State and Society, University of Exeter, UK

Cost (incl. refreshments & lunch)

Standard Registration: £20

Student Registration: £10

 

And can I vouch for the RAF Museum archive reading room...and staff who are always attendant and happy to search the unsearchable. Meet some great people there, both staff and researchers.

 

Lou I will be attending. Bit far off but will give a take on it on here afterwards.

 

Typical; I tracked this society's meetings down, and then discovered they're all on nights I'm usually working.

Via email:
"A reminder that the next of The Centre for the Study of Modern Conflict seminars takes place on Thursday, 31st January:

Dr Heather Jones, London School of Economics - 'The Allied blockade of Germany in The First World War'

The seminar will start at 5.00pm and will be held in Room G.11, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, see Visiting us | About us | School of History, Classics and Archaeology for details of the location.

See Seminar programme | Events | The Centre for the Study of Modern Conflict for the most up-to-date details of the seminars.

Please forward this email to anyone else you think may be interested. If this email has been forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the Centre email distribution list for reminders of the seminars and details of other events that may be of interest, please email csmc@ed.ac.uk.


The Centre for the Study of Modern Conflict
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
William Robertson Wing
Old Medical School
Teviot Place
Edinburgh
EH8 9AG"

 

This is actually a pdf flyer, but at 5.7MB is too large to upload and there doesn't seem to be a website to link to.

"Dig Doiran; The Salonika Front Archaeological Project

Are you interested in digging on the Salonika Front this year ?
It was a forgotten front against a secondary enemy. But the First World War in Macedonia did not seem that way to the British soldiers ordered to attack the
Bulgarian trench-fortress of Doiran in spring 1917...
This year the Salonika Front Archaeology Project is offering you the opportunity to participate in exciting archaeological research on this fascinating WWI site.
The season will involve six days of excavation and survey work investigating the Bulgarian frontline defences on Petit Couronné, with local labour assisting with
general clearance and heavy work. There will be an optional two days of guided exploration of the First World War remains in the wider landscape. There will also
be a full programme of talks and seminars.
The 2013 field season will run from Sunday 15 September to Sunday 22 September. The all-in price (including flights, transport, shared accommodation, food, and insurance) will be £950 per person or, with single-room supplement, £1,150. Accommodation will be in self-contained apartments with single or shared bedrooms (according to choice) and shared facilities.
Those who wish to join the expedition, should apply to Gary Rossin, Dig Doiran: The Salonika Front Archaeological Project, giving name, address, and full contact details, and enclosing a cheque for a £200 deposit (this will be fully refundable in the event that the expedition is cancelled). Email - gary.rossin@btinternet.com"

 

Yes, I will be going. My PhD supervisor is giving the keynote and my potential external examiner is the organiser so I think I should show my face!

Ross

 

Via facebook
"Tuesday 5th February 2013

5:30pm​

• • [TABLE="class: uiGrid mvm"]
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    [/TD]
    [TD="class: vTop"]Paul Harris, King’s College London, ‘The Men Who Planned the War: the staff of the British Army on the Western Front 1914-18’, War Studies Seminar, Centre for War Studies, University of Birmingham, 5:30pm, Arts Lecture Room 3, First Floor, Arts Building, University of Birmingham"[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]

 

South Manchester Tactical Society Presents
The Fight for the City & Hinterland of Tangier 1662-1684

Tuesday 12th February 2013 at 7.30pm

More info on this link

For directions click here.

 

Bit of news just in-
"To better reflect the aims and objectives of our group and following feedback from our survey the South Manchester Tactical Society has been renamed to The Manchester Military History Society.
Please make sure your email address book contains info@mcrmilhist.org.uk so we don't disappear into the spam filter.
One thing we are not changing is our policy of quality speakers, eclectic subjects, informality and lively discussions!
We look forward to seeing you soon.
For our provisional programme of 2013 talks click here."

 

Via email-
"The 2nd Postgraduate Conference in Conflict Archaeology
University of Liverpool, 10-12 October 2013
Email: conflict@liv.ac.uk
The Department of Archaeology at the University in Liverpool will host a three-day conference presenting postgraduate research in conflict archaeology. This conference will provide a lively forum to present, discuss and discover the latest research in conflict archaeology. As conflict archaeology becomes an increasingly popular discipline in both academic and public circles, the opportunity to facilitate research interaction becomes ever more important.
Following on from the first conference at the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, Glasgow, in 2011, this meeting at the University of Liverpool will provide a friendly arena for postgraduates to present their work and network with fellow researchers.
The conference invites submissions from any period of the past and in all aspects of conflict archaeology, in topics including but not limited to:
*** Methodological Approaches to Sites and Themes
*** Landscapes of Conflict
*** Weaponry studies
*** Post-Battle Processes
*** Maritime Conflict
*** Archaeology of Resistance
*** Memorialisation and Remembrance
*** Experimental and Re-enactment Archaeology
*** Heritage Management of Conflict Sites
Papers are expected to be 20 minutes long. We also extend an invitation to postgraduates in the early stages of research to submit proposals for 10-minute paper presentations introducing their initial research basis and/or methodology. Please send an abstract of 250-300 words toconflict@liv.ac.uk by 30[SUP]th[/SUP] June 2013; expressions of interest to present or attend the conference are requested before this date.
A1 and A0 poster presentations are also invited.
For further details, please contact Jo Ball, Peter Norris, or Samantha Cook
c/o Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology
12 Abercromby Square
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 7WZ"

 

"Making Military History in Museums



Summary

• A one-day conference at the National Army Museum (NAM), London
• Organised by NAM and the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester
• Friday 13 September 2013, NAM, London

The Museum has submitted a successful Stage One Heritage Lottery Bid which proposes a complete redisplay of its collections and a remodelling of its interior at a cost of £22m. As part of the Stage Two submission process it invites practitioners and academics to submit papers which will stimulate debate about the particular challenges of displaying military stories, memories and objects.
Ideas generated and discussed at the conference have the possibility of influencing how the Museum presents its displays. This conference therefore offers an unusual opportunity for academic ideas to influence a key national museum project in the capital in a direct and immediate way. Plans are in hand to publish a selection of papers on the web in an edited volume.

Conference themes

Papers are invited that investigate one or more of the following themes which are broad and intended to offer scope for debate and intellectual experimentation.
1. Difficult histories relating to the theme of warfare

• How do the historical narratives and the material collections of military museums contribute to division and contestation?
• How do they, or might they, build bridges between nations and communities?
• How can military museums interpret objects whose meanings depend on national narratives that have been rethought or revised in a multicultural nation?
• What is the role of military museums in reflecting on the nature of war, death and suffering not only in the past but in the present?

2. Popular culture, memories, forgetting and warfare

• What is the role of warfare in national identity and to what extent should national museums tell a national story?
• War and remembrance - how have popular cultural practices shaped cultural memories?
• How and why does forgetting shape the military story?
• How do military museums affect popular attitudes to the nation, warfare and the military in general?
• How do national military museums contribute to the values, perceptions and identities of citizens in a global era?

3. The role of affect in the military museum

• How do iconic objects affect visitors?
• To what extent is it appropriate to encourage emotional responses of pride, sorrow, admiration or shame in military museums?
• How can this be done in a non-confrontational and unthreatening way?

4. The role of the personal narrative in the military museum

• In a postmodern world old narratives are challenged and a multiplicity of voices is encouraged. What is the role of the personal story in the military museum?
• Do military museums have a role in telling the stories of ex-soldiers?

5. How does a museum use space effectively in exhibition design?

• How can a deeper and broader understanding of military history and its potential be incorporated into the design of the Museum’s physical structure?
• How can the architecture and range of spaces that comprise the Museum, be designed to enable dialogue as well as generate meaningful and engaging experiences for a range of users?
• What do we understand about the relations between architecture and identity and how can this be harnessed by museums such as the National Army Museum

Central to this conference is a dialogue between museum professionals and university researchers. While academics can operate outside the professional and institutional constraints that shape practice, the role of the museum professional in developing greater and better museums, in tune with the demands of early 21st-century society, is the key to museum development success. This conference provides a forum for debate between these two, one that will help to shape the redevelopment of the National Army Museum.
Submitting proposals for papers

The deadline for submission for proposals for papers is Tuesday 2 April 2013. These should be brief (no more than 500 words) and include:

• the name of the proposer(s)
• the institutions to which they are affiliated (if appropriate)
• their current position(s) (e.g. curator, lecturer, PhD student)

Proposals should be emailed to Alastair Massie amassie@nam.ac.uk(National Army Museum). Please put 'Making Military History in Museums' in the title of the email and indicate to which of the five subthemes the proposal is related."
http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/calls-papers/making-military-history-museums

 

Thats a worthwhile subject.