Mediating the Past: BBC Radio Archaeology Broadcasting, 1922-1966.

The advent of BBC radio broadcasting in 1922 created a new opportunity for communicating archaeology. Accessing archive material from the BBC Written Archives at Caversham, and referencing scholarship from the disciplines of media research, archaeological historiography and public history, the project addresses the nature of Talks radio archaeology broadcasts from the BBC’s inception until 1966. During this period when both archaeology and radio broadcasting were developing as professions, archaeologists were sought for their expert contribution to radio content, and radio increasingly acted as a catalyst for the promotion of the professional archaeological identity. From the earliest days of regular broadcasting, archaeologists were present in an educational role, and showed themselves aware of radio’s potential as a platform for public relations and fund-raising. The interwar period saw archaeology portrayed on radio through the lens of the outdoor movement, and as part of the BBC’s science communication policy. Wartime radio programmes with archaeological themes contributed to BBC policy in relation to education, propaganda and reconstruction. Archaeologists continued to have a regular place in the radio schedules in the post-war period, contributing expert knowledge of progress in research and scientific methods. At the same time radio producers harnessed developments in sound technology to find new ways of mediating complex archaeological information for public presentation, until in the mid- 1960s the focus for archaeological broadcasting moved to television. The research throws new light on the early years of BBC radio, and on the nature of the Third Programme and the Home Service, and highlights the potential of radio studies to contribute to the historiography of archaeology. Overall the study reveals the central role of radio in the public communication of archaeology, and demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between the developing professions of archaeology and radio production

The National Library of Wales and National Identity, c.1840-1916

This thesis evaluates the National Library of Wales (NLW) from conception to realisation. It adds to the limited existing work on the library by positioning it within the political and cultural environment from which it emerged, posing new questions about its relationship with Welsh national identity. Although there is some work which looks at national identity in relation to national library projects, nothing of this type and depth has been done before, and not in relation to Wales. The first section investigates the early calls for a NLW and explores why the campaign made significant progress from the 1890s. The focus then shifts to an interrogation of the British government’s decision to locate the library in Aberystwyth, challenging the important role previously assigned to the campaign group’s application. Chapter three analyses the library building fund’s subscription drive and argues that the campaign was not the result of a mass movement, but orchestrated by a group of elites. It evaluates the decision made by the library campaign committee to evoke momentary patriotic sympathies among potential subscribers, rather than extolling the virtues of the library as a long-term educational resource. Chapter four is an analysis of the library’s buying policy and argues that an overrepresentation from key academic disciplines on the committees may have created a bias towards certain subjects. The final chapter compares this vision with how the library’s services were utilised by three user groups: reading room users, tutorial class attendees and Ruhleben camp internees. Reading room usage generally concurred with the founders’ overall vision for the library. In contrast, remote users attending tutorial classes were given the opportunity to curate their own reading which resulted in a more wide-ranging collection. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the library’s development and role as a key element of Welsh nation-building at the beginning of the twentieth century

The economic and technological development of the slate quarrying industry in the Nantlle Valley, Gwynedd

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN020916 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The campaign for the disestablishment of the Welsh Anglican Church: a study in political intrigue and popular frustration

The significance of the campaign to seek the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, and the outcome of that struggle has, in the context of modern Welsh history, either been forgotten or has been regularly misrepresented. Consideration of the campaign to disestablish the four Welsh dioceses of the Church of England could be dismissed as seemingly irrelevant, particular in an increasingly secular world. Two factors should militate against such treatment: its significance as a key political issue and the fact that, despite popular and constant demand within Wales, as expressed through the electoral process, the campaign was to last for at least half a century. The longevity of the struggle has inordinate significance, in terms of what it says about the development of democracy in Wales. The objective is to re-examine the campaign for the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales in its widest context, attempting to understand how the campaign impacted upon aspects of Welsh politics and identity. The thesis will also examine whether the form of disestablishment which was eventually delivered in 1920, as a result of the Welsh Church Act 1914, and subsequent amending legislation, bore any resemblance to what had been fought for or whether, in reality, the Welsh Anglican Church was disestablished, de jure, but not de facto. It is argued that if any party can be lauded as a victor of that prolonged campaign, then that accolade should be awarded to the efforts of the Church defenders who were successful in ensuring that the event described as disestablishment was delayed and attenuated to such an extent that it was of no substantive consequence. This was in the context of the actions of those secular politicians who, although they ostensibly supported disestablishment, exhibited an ineffectiveness which almost caused disestablishment to be lost

The Republican Journal: Vol. 93, No. 46 - November 17,1921

https://digitalmaine.com/rj_1921/1045/thumbnail.jp

Welsh print culture in y Wladfa: The role of ethnic newspapers in Welsh Patagonia, 1868 -1933

This thesis explores the role played by Welsh-language newspapers in y Wladfa (the Welsh settlement in Argentine Patagonia) from its inception in 1865 until 1933. The newspapers are analysed to assess in which manner they contributed to creating and maintaining a particular kind of Welsh identity whose preservation was the founding principle of the Patagonian settlement, and how that particular sense of Welshness evolved through time. The various publications produced by the Welsh in Patagonia will also be used to identify whether there were any challenges from within the Welsh community to the values, culture and identity that the newspapers promoted. Of special interest is analysing the interaction of the Welsh settlers with the Argentine Central Government and its representatives in the Chubut Territory. The reactions of Welsh-Patagonian newspapers to the complexities of the socio-political and cultural changes that Argentina underwent towards the end of the nineteenth century until the 1930s will be identified in order to understand how the Welsh experience in Patagonia fits in with the designs of the Government to effectively incorporate the Patagonian region into the fold of the Republic, and how the nationalistic policies of the Argentine Government impacted on the Welsh community and its press. This thesis also looks at how the Welsh-Patagonian newspapers interacted with an international network of Welsh-language publications from a distant corner of Patagonia. This research thesis intends to be a contribution to the studies of the ethnic press, studies of the experiences of the Welsh overseas, and studies in the field of immigration and ethnic communities in Argentina –more specifically in the context of the Patagonian region

Rex Whistler (1905-1944) Patronage and Artistic Identity

This thesis explores the life and work of Rex Whistler, from his first commissions whilst at the Slade up until the time he enlisted for active service in World War Two. His death in that conflict meant that this was a career that lasted barely twenty years; however it comprised a large range of creative endeavours. Although all these facets of Whistler’s career are touched upon, the main focus is on his work in murals and the fields of advertising and commercial design. The thesis goes beyond the remit of a purely biographical stance and places Whistler’s career in context by looking at the contemporary art world in which he worked, and the private, commercial and public commissions he secured. In doing so, it aims to provide a more comprehensive account of Whistler’s achievement than has been afforded in any of the existing literature or biographies. This deeper examination of the artist’s practice has been made possible by considerable amounts of new factual information derived from the Whistler Archive and other archival sources. Thus the sources of his ideas and influences, the creative stimuli to which Whistler responded have been documented extensively and mapped against the iconography to be found in his works, particularly the murals. Further consideration of the art, artists and culture of the time situates the artist amongst his contemporaries, drawing out the themes and inspirations that he shared with them and in so doing questions the idea of Whistler as an idiosyncratic artist working in a partially private ‘bubble’, cut off from wider currents of art practice. The artist’s diaries and accounts books have provided invaluable fresh information on his working practices, social and professional connections and the remuneration he received for different projects. This monographic concentration on Whistler’s life and art practice is seen as the necessary foundation for further analysis of his career and what his career, in turn, tells us about the inter-war British art world. The thesis argues that Whistler’s success as a muralist needs to be considered against the background of the English mural revival, the emergent enthusiasm for Baroque and Rococo style and the rediscovery of the Regency period. Equally, a case is made for Whistler’s understanding of the new area of advertising and design that developed in the 1920s and 30s, in which he played a substantial part. The thesis also argues that Whistler was complicit in the managing of his image during his lifetime, and was particularly astute in his understanding of the power of the press and media. With Whistler’s work in many areas governed by the commissioning process, an attempt is made to understand and assess the implications of patronage in the twentieth century and the concomitant effects upon an artist’s creative vision, voice and identity