Cultures of Decolonisation c.1945-1970

Image: Entrance Hall, the Royal Commonwealth Society, 1959 RCS II (e) 6.

Keynote: Dr Bill Schwarz

Convenors: Dr Claire Wintle (University of Brighton)

Dr Ruth Craggs (St Mary’s University College)

This symposium will bring together scholars with an interest in the cultural practices, performances and material cultures of decolonisation, c.1945-1970.

While the problems of ‘empire’ and ‘the postcolonial’ have come under increasing scrutiny in the humanities and social sciences in recent years, and debate about the political and economic processes of decolonisation is well established, the cultural sites, spaces and social practices of this process in the middle years of the twentieth century have often been overlooked.

Yet new scholarship is beginning to point to the attention that the literary, visual and built environment paid to political, economic and social change in this period. In addition, the roles of individuals and institutions in cultural practices and performances of decolonisation are now drawing critical attention from a variety of fields. This symposium will bring together scholars from history, art and design history, cultural geography, literature, museum studies, architecture and other cultural fields to further explore these topics with regard to decolonisation between 1945 and 1970.

Image: Sketch for proposed British Guiana court, Commonwealth Institute. James Gardner, c. 1961. University of Brighton Design Archives.

Papers will consider the peoples, sites, materials and practices of emerging and newly independent nations, as well as the processes of decolonisation as enacted in Europe. This event will lend new insights into debates about the contested nature of decolonisation, and into the impact of cultural practices on socio-political processes.

Papers will focus on:

• Cultural institutions and their reactions to and engagements with decolonisation
• Amateurs, professionals and enthusiasts in decolonisation
• Imperial knowledges, materials and collections, and their place in a decolonising world
• Specific media as arenas for political exchange
• Cultural sites of independence and decolonisation
• Visual and performance cultures of decolonisation
• Decolonising lives
• Networks of decolonisation

Supported by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London; University of Brighton Faculty of Arts; and St Mary’s University College.

Venue : Room 349 (SH)

This room is located on the third floor of Senate House.

Registration fee: £35 (includes lunch and refreshments for both days)

If you have enquiries or would like to book a place, please email Chloe Pieters: chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk

For more information, and a programme: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/eventdetails0.html?id=10987