Cultures of Decolonisation, c.1945-1970 symposium, 30 May 2012 - 31 May 2012

Registration is now open for the Cultures of Decolonisation, c.1945-1970 symposium, 30 May 2012 - 31 May 2012 to be held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Senate House, London.


Keynote Speaker: Dr Bill Schwarz

Convenors: Claire Wintle (University of Brighton) and Ruth Craggs (St Mary’s University College) Registration fee: £35 (includes lunch and refreshments for both days) For registration and a full programme: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/eventdetails0.html?id=10987

If you have enquiries, please email Chloe Pieters: chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk or ruth.craggs@smuc.ac.uk


Programme: 30th May

10-10-45 Coffee and Welcome

10.45-11.30 Keynote lecture: ‘Decolonisation and Postcolonial History’ Professor Bill Schwarz (English Literature, Queen Mary)

11.30-1.00 Cultural Frameworks and Political Networks
‘The Peasant Armed: Bengal, Vietnam and transnational solidarities in Utpal Dutt's Invincible Vietnam’, Abin Chakraborty (English, University of Calcutta)
 ‘The Radical Left and the Imagining of Post-imperial Britain in the 1960s’ Jodi Burkett (History, University of Portsmouth)
‘Networks of Decolonization: Cultural Alliances during the Cold War’ Monica Popescu (English, McGill University)

1.00-2.00 Lunch

2.00-3.45 Contested Expertise and Decolonising Knowledge
‘Careering through Decolonisation: Richard St Barbe Baker, soil erosion and reforestation in the Sahara, c. 1950-1966’, Paul Ashmore (History, University of Sheffield)
‘Anthropology as Satyagraha (truth force): Elwin in pre-independence India’ Daniel Rycroft (World Art, University of East Anglia)
‘Preserving Authentic Africa: Museum construction and ethnographic work in French West Africa 1945-1960’, Louisa Rice (History, University of Wisconsin)
 ‘Claiming Maori Cultural Space and Performances of Identity in the Museum’ Christofili Kefalas (Pitt Rivers Museum/ISCA, University of Oxford)

3.45-4.15 Tea

4.15-6.00 Sites of Learning: Decolonising Education
‘‘Building Egyptians: Schools and culture palaces in Nasser’s Egypt’ Mohamed Elshahed (Department of Middle East Studies, New York University)
‘Postwar Malay Dictionaries and the Lexicographic Agency of the Colonized, 1945-1950’ Rachel Leow (Economics, Politics and History, Harvard University)
 ‘Dressed for Decolonisation? Student dress at the University of Ibadan, 1948-1962’,Tim Livsey (History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck)

6.00-7.00 Wine Reception and Poster Session

Programme: 31st May

9.30-11.15 Building New Nations: Decolonising Symbols and Heritage
‘Designs on Money: New national identities and new coins for independent African nations’ Catherine Eagleton (Modern Money, British Museum)
‘Heritage as Performance: Re-enacting the temple of Angkor Wat in postcolonial Cambodia (1953-1970)’ Michael Falser (Global Art History, Heidelberg University)
‘Troubled Tales: The uneasy birth of a modern museum in a modern nation-state’ Atreyee Gupta (Art and Design, University of Minnesota)
‘The Vicissitudes of the Volta River Project, Ghana: Spatial inscriptions of globalisation or situated modern urbanisms?’ Viviana d'Auria (Architecture, Urbanism & Planning, KU Leuven)

11.15-11.45 Coffee

11.45-1.30 Metropolitan Experiences of Decolonisation
‘Anxiety Abroad’ David Wall (Visual & Media Studies, Utah State University)
‘Sexuality, Psychology and the Imperial Hero, c. 1945-1970’ Max Jones, (History, University of Manchester)
‘Individual Experience and Community Practice: The amateur enthusiast at the end of empire’ Anna Bocking-Welch, (History, University of York)
‘Henry Swanzy, Satre's Zombie? Black Power and the transformation of the Caribbean Artists Movement’ Rob Waters, (English Literature, Queen Mary)

1.30-2.30 Lunch

2.30-4.15 International Boundaries and Creative Appropriations
‘Colonial Rebels at Home and Abroad: Maori modernism and decolonisation in the 1960s’ Damian Skinner (Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge)
‘Joe Harriott: 'Free-form' jazz and decolonisation’, David Winks (English Literature, Queen Mary) ‘Barbarous Jungle Growth: Módulo magazine and the global media image of a modern Brazil’ Christian Larsen (Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture)

4.15-4.30 Closing Remarks

Supported by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of Brighton, and St Mary’s University College

Culture and Conflict - call for projects and research proposals

The Prince Claus Fund and the Commonwealth Foundation are calling for high quality, multi-disciplinary and innovative project proposals from civil society organisations addressing the issue of culture and conflict, within the framework of the Culture and Conflict Programme.


Grants will be awarded to civil society organisations in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Organisations should submit a proposal for the development and delivery of activities that use culture as a way of engaging with local communities. Projects should also include a tangible output that captures the experiences of the participants and highlights the impact of the project.

The Prince Claus Fund and the Commonwealth Foundation are also calling for high quality and innovative research proposals from individuals exploring the role of culture in conflict and post-conflict situations, within the framework of its Culture and Conflict programme.


Two researchers will be appointed with responsibility for examining arts and culture-led initiatives for conflict resolution, including the work of the Culture and Conflict Programme grant recipients in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. One researcher will be appointed from Africa and another from Asia.

Applicants should have proven professional research experience or practice in the field of culture and conflict and/or development.

All applications and queries should be sent to: h.thomas@commonwealth.int

Deadline: 27 January 2012, 17:00 (GMT)