GLGW Conference 2019. ‘A World Transformed: The First World War and its Legacy’

Featured

During the First World War centenary period, the University of Oxford’s “Globalising & Localising the Great War” network was one of the largest hubs for First World War research in the country. This conference serves as the culminating event for the network, and features its current and former PhD students, postdocs, postholders, visiting researchers, and collaborators gathering to share their research and discuss the post-centenary future of First World War studies. 

Registration fees: £175 (General public); £150 (Affiliated academic); £90 (student)

Lunch and refreshments are included in registration fee. Also included are the following:- please note, you will need to select these items during the registration process if you wish to attend:

  • Drinks reception at Maison Francaise 19th June
  • Dinner at St Antony’s College 20th June
  • SOFO trip 21st June (note, places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis)

To see the programme and to register, please click here

Posted in WW1

GLGW events for 2018-2019

Featured

Michaelmas Term

1 November 2018 to 31 July 2019
Oxford: The War and the World, 1914-1919
Download poster: OWAW Poster
Download leaflet: OWAW Leaflet
A free exhibition to commemorate Oxford during the First World War. Touring to five venues between November 2018 and July 2019:
Somerville College, Oxford – 1 to 29 November 2018 (weekdays 2.00-5.30pm, Saturdays 9.30-11.30am)
The Rumble Museum, Cheney School, Headington – 1 to 20 December 2018
Cowley Library, Oxford – 22 December 2018 to 30 January 2019
Westgate Library, Oxford – 1 to 28 February 2019
The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock – 19 March to 31 July 2019

While some citizens left Oxford and travelled to other countries during the First World War, others stayed behind and experienced the city’s increasingly international connections; individuals from across the UK and the world joined them here because of the conflict. All these people were involved in, and contributed to, the war in different ways, and twelve of them are commemorated in this exhibition which highlights the wartime experiences of men and women, be they ‘town’, ‘gown’, or from overseas. By focussing on individual stories the exhibition emphasises Oxford’s international connections during the First World War and helps to expand understanding of different types of war experiences beyond the trenches.

See here for the exhibition panels online.

See here for details of the exhibition on the Somerville College website.

Image Credit: Nicholas de Staël, L’Orchestre (1953) Photo (C) Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Georges Meguerditchian.

6 November, 18.00-20.00
Into Silence
Dr Suzan M.R. Kalayci (Pembroke College and the History Faculty) and Professor Kate McLoughlin (Harris Manchester College and the English Faculty)
Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, Oxford
The performances will begin at 18:00 and finish at c. 19:15. Please arrive early as the doors to the auditorium will be closed 5 minutes before the start time of event.
Please register for this free event via the Eventbrite link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/into-silence-tickets-51647393745

8 November 2018, 19.30-21.00
The Harold Vyvyan Alfred and Vere Harmsworth Memorial Lecture: ‘Armageddon: The First World War as Millenarian Moment’
Dr Adrian Gregory (Pembroke College, Oxford)
Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, St Aldates, Oxford
Public lecture – open to all
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/memorial-lecture-armageddon-the-first-world-war-as-millenarian-moment-tickets-50272944731

9 November 2018, 09.30-11.30
Roundtable discussion – The Harold Vyvyan Alfred and Vere Harmsworth Memorial Lecture: ‘Armageddon: The First World War as Millenarian Moment’
Chaired by Dr Adrian Gregory
Harold Lee Room, Pembroke College, St Aldates, Oxford
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roundtable-discussion-memorial-lecture-tickets-50273184448

Hilary Term

Monday 14 January 2019, 17.00-18.30
Colin Matthew Room, History Faculty
Title of lecture: ‘All the things we cannot hear: Soundscapes of the First World War’
Professor Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University

7 February 2019, 19.00-21.00
Where do you put the camera? How Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell filmed the First World War
Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, St Aldates, Oxford
Andrew McCarthy (freelance writer and researcher), John Adderley (professional cinematographer), and Peter Hort (University of Westminster) (TBC)

Trinity Term

19-21 June 2019
A World Transformed: The First World War and its Legacy
A three-day international conference
Rothermere American Institute
Programme and further details to follow in due course

22 June 2019, 10.30-16.45
Oxford: The War and the World, 1914-1919 (a workshop for anyone interested in Oxford’s role in the First World War)
Margaret Thatcher Centre (MTC) lecture theatre, Somerville College, Woodstock Road, Oxford (TBC)
Public workshop
Further information and how to book will be given here nearer the time.
Speakers: Clara Abraham (TBC), Stephen Barker, Dr Malcolm Graham, Dr Rob Johnson, Caroline Roaf, Peter Smith, Sue Smith
Introduction: Dr Adrian Gregory

CfP: The People’s Conference: The Transnational Legacies of 1919

Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston (Ontario)
November 7-8 2019

Download bilingual CfP: Symposium 2019 – Call for paper (bilingual)

On the hundredth anniversary of the world changing Paris Peace Conference and of the Treaty of Versailles, the Department of History of the Royal Military College of Canada is hosting a conference to examine their impact on transnational and international movements and institutions. Most scholarship to date has focussed on what happened in Paris in 1919 from the perspective of the coming of the Second World War, and on the inability of the Treaty of Versailles and of the League of Nations to prevent a second global conflagration. Only recently has more attention been paid to the explosion of international and transnational institutions and organizations created in aftermath of 1919. The Paris Peace Conference was the first international conference to draw upon the input of individuals and private groups, while others met in parallel conferences to discuss what was happening or should be happening within the halls of Versailles. In that sense, Paris 1919 opened the door to popular participation in global treaty making that continues to this day.

The organizing committee solicits proposals for papers on the short and long term legacies that the Paris Peace Conference (1919) has had on international and transnational movements and institutions over the past century. Areas of study might include, but are not limited to:

• International, transnational, non-governmental organizations;
• Human Rights;
• Disarmament and Rules of Armed Conflict;
• Veterans’ Rehabilitation/Demobilization;
• Human migration (Refugees, Sanctuary);
• Peace (including peacekeeping and peace enforcement);
• Gender and international peace and security;
• Memory and memorials.

Preference will be given to historical studies highlighting new perspectives or new fields of study.
Proposals in French or English should include a 200 or 300 words abstract accompanied by a one-page CV.

Proposals should be emailed to symposium2019@rmc-cmr.ca no later than 30 November 2018.

For more information, please contact Dr. Kevin Brushett (kevin.brushett@rmc.ca), Dr. Marie-Michèle Doucet (marie-michele.doucet@rmc.ca) or Dr. Emanuele Sica (Emanuele.sica@rmc.ca).

Event: ‘Into Silence’, Pembroke College Oxford, 6 November 2018

The evening event of Into Silence will take place in the Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College on 6 November from 18.00-20.00.

Image Credit: Nicholas de Staël, L’Orchestre (1953) Photo (C) Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Georges Meguerditchian.

In the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, Dr Suzan M.R. Kalayci (Pembroke College and the History Faculty) and Professor Kate McLoughlin (Harris Manchester College and the English Faculty) are organising two events dedicated to silence. An evening of silent performances – or performances of silence – will be followed the next morning by an informal workshop on silence involving academics from various disciplines, members of the public and creative practitioners. Silence and the First World War are bound by many threads, not least by the institution of the commemorative Two-Minute Silence in 1919, the history of which has been written by Pembroke’s History Fellow Dr. Adrian Gregory.

During the evening event, you will be encouraged to sense silence physically, to feel it emotionally and to think about it critically. Performances will include sound-sculptures, mime, dance and film, but full details will only be disclosed at the end. After the performances, there will be a drinks reception at which organisers, performers and audience will informally discuss their experiences.

The performances will begin at 18:00 and finish at c. 19:15. Please arrive early as the doors to the auditorium will be closed 5 minutes before the start time of event.

Please register for this free event via the Eventbrite link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/into-silence-tickets-51647393745

Event: Digital Collection Afternoon: Rumble Museum, 2 November, 2-5pm

Do you have a story and/or photographs or other items connected to
women in your family or community who have done something pioneering in
their lives?

The Rumble Museum is holding a digital collection afternoon to preserve
these stories, memories, and objects connected to women’s lives and
rights over the last 100 years. We are also looking for World War
One and World War Two artefacts and stories. We will record your story
or photograph any objects and these will be uploaded to a national
online database. The website will be freely available to anyone to use
and will preserve these objects and documents.

Please come along to the school Library with your objects between 2 and
5pm on Friday 2nd November, 2018. We will have experts on hand to help
to give you more information on the items. There will also be
artefact-handling, refreshments and an opportunity to talk to members
from the wider community.

For more information, please contact lorna@irisproject.org.uk
Please contact us in advance with rough details of what you will be
bringing along.

Further details here

This is part of a national project called ‘Lest We Forget’
co-ordinated by the University of Oxford – see
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordLWF/

Twitter event: #OwenLastDays – The Last Days and Legacy of Wilfred Owen

Faculty of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford

To mark the World War I Armistice centenary, we’ll be charting the last two weeks of Wilfred Owen’s life during the war, up until his death on November 4th 1918 – just one week before the end of hostilities.

You can follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ww1lit) and using #OwenLastDays between 22nd October and 4th November. Our tweets will include links to online learning resources all aimed at schools and other items of interest that the University of Oxford makes publicly available through its First World War Poetry Digital Archive and its Great Writers Inspire sites. These include online exercises on war poetry, Owen’s manuscript drafts, recorded lectures and podcasts, and new writing from experts in the field concerning Owen’s death and his continued and changing legacy. We particularly hope to reach schools, teachers, and students, to highlight the wealth of online resources that the University of Oxford makes available for wider educational use.

We are also announcing a nationwide secondary-school competition, asking for poster and/or performance responses to Owen’s poetry, its historical context, and its continuing legacy. Prizes include Amazon vouchers and books, and we are looking for entries from students Years 7-9, 10-11, and 12-13. Closing date for entries is Noon, 30th November 2018. For details on the competition and how to enter visit our web site:
https://owen.web.ox.ac.uk

Stuart Lee/Hannah Simpson
#OwenLastDays Project
Faculty of English Language and Literature
University of Oxford

T: @ww1lit #OwenLastDays
E: ww1collections@it.ox.ac.uk
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ww1Lit/
W: https://owen.web.ox.ac.uk

Event: The Great War and the Middle East

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT
16 November 2018, 11.30am
FREE (Booking is recommended)

Dr Rob Johnson (Pembroke College, Oxford) addresses the First World War in the Middle East, looking with a fresh perspective at the thinking that lay behind the operations there.

The First World War in the Middle East brought to an end 500 years of Ottoman domination, stirred nationalist sentiments, and created new international borders. Amid this conflict, Colonel TE Lawrence – better known as Lawrence of Arabia – offered a new way of thinking about war and championed the Arab cause through a guerrilla campaign.

In this talk, Rob Johnson will re-examine Middle East operations looking at the connected strategic decision-making of the belligerents, and their imperial calculations.

To book, please see here

Book: ‘Trenches and Destruction’. Letters from the Front 1915-1919

First World War letters written by Pleasance Walker
Compiled and edited by Caroline Roaf

When war broke out in 1914, Pleasance Edith Walker (1882 -1965) was in her early thirties, living at home with her parents in 30 Norham Gardens. Little is currently known about her life before the war. From her letters we know that she taught in the Sunday School at St. Giles’ Church, that she played the violin and was the secretary of a local orchestra. Some pre-war family photos, now held in the Museum of the City of Oxford, provide evidence of a well educated, closely knit, middle class family. Her father, James Walker, was a University Demonstrator in Physics. Her bother Robert, about 18 months older than her, had joined the Armed Forces as a career. As an Engineer Lieutenant in the Navy, he survived the war and was promoted to the rank of Engineer Commander in 1918. Her younger sister Rosalys lived locally, as an Anglican nun, with the Society of the Order of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. As a family, the Walkers appear to have played an active role in the community, with many friends. Pleasance’s pre-1914 life was serene. She helped her mother, took pleasure in the garden, music, reading, family holidays in Wales, and her cat.

In 1914, all that changed. We know that Pleasance wanted to join the war effort and to serve abroad, as her brother Robert was doing. It is not yet clear under what auspices she left for a French hospital in January 1915, probably as part of a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). Certainly it was a VAD nurse who came to inspect the work she and some other English women were doing in a French hospital in Caen in May 1915. Of this visit Pleasance reported:

We had an operation to-day and she (the visiting nurse) went into the Theatre with me as a spectator only and I am pleased because she told the others afterwards that not only was my training excellent but I deserved a Victoria Cross for my nerve and calmness. All this sounds horribly conceited but I am so desperately keen on the work that I am frightfully pleased that my amateur ways are not utterly condemned by the professional. M.Fortin (the French surgeon) told me to-day that I am not to give up the Theatre work to anyone.’

This passage marks the transition of Pleasance the stay-at-home daughter, to Pleasance the indispensable nurse in a war zone. It was a dramatic moment. From then until early February 1919, Pleasance, having been persuaded, it seems, by the French surgeons to stay with them, was employed by the French Red Cross, moving from Caen to Bourbourg, near Dunkirk, in March 1918.

With only occasional visits home on leave, Pleasance wrote to her parents regularly, two or three times a week, over the whole war period from wherever she was stationed in northern France. After the Armistice in November 1918 the letters continued as her work took her into areas previously under German occupation. During this period her work became similar to that of a health visitor. She checked on the health of children and elderly people, often lying helpless, starving in their ruined houses. She inoculated local people, several hundred a day at times, against the diseases, such as Spanish ‘flu, to which everyone living in those devastated areas was prone. And she explores the battle grounds, wanting to see for herself where her patients had received their terrible injuries. Late in 1918, she mentions the possibility of being nominated for the Croix de Guerre. This was an honour created by the French government in 1915, specifically to honour exceptional long term conduct over the period of the war. While her letters confirm her eligibility for this honour, she was not actually awarded it: few women were and in her case, slow communications between the authorities in England and France to secure the necessary character references didn’t help. In February 1919, not without some misgivings, because she had been offered further work with the French Red Cross in the Near East or North Africa, she returned home and we lose track of her. We know that she married Herbert Lister Bowman, Waynflete Professor of Mineralogy and Crystallography in 1921, and that she died, aged 83, in 1965, in the house she had lived in all her married life, 8 Fyfield Road. A small collection of family photographs, and her letters home from France during WW1, were found in the house after her death.