Tag Archives: English

Major Miss Bell: Gertrude Bell and the First World War

Exhibition @ Level 2, Newcastle University Robinson Library, November 2015 – January 2016. 

Cartographer, archaeologist, interpreter, photographer, Gertrude Bell (born 1868 at Washington New Hall, County Durham) is perhaps best known as a central figure in British political movements in the Middle East during the early twentieth century. Appointed the appointed Oriental Secretary in 1917, her expertise in the geography of the Middle East led to her involvement in the Cairo Conference of 1921, in which she played a central role in the formation of Iraq. Often overlooked, however, is the range and extent of the work Bell undertook during the First World War, which took her from Boulogne to Baghdad. Curated by Dr Emma Short (School of English, Newcastle University & Living Legacies 1914-1918), this exhibition of material from the Gertrude Bell Papers, held in Newcastle University Robinson Library Special Collections, explores the impact of the First World War on Bell’s life and legacy.

The exhibition can be seen on Level 2 of the Robinson Library, Newcastle University, and all are welcome to visit. Staff on reception will be happy to admit on request visitors who wish to view the exhibition without a Newcastle University Library card.

Dr Short will be speaking on Gertrude Bell and the First World War at the Robinson Library to Friends of the Robinson Library at 6pm on 1 December 2015, and at the Newcastle City Library (as part of the Gender Research Group Evening Lecture Series) at 5.15pm on Wednesday 13 January 2016.  

Photograph courtesy of Newcastle University Robinson Library Special Collections. 

Women & the First World War (1910-1930) – Call for Papers

17 September 2015 @ Newcastle University

Keynote Address: Professor Alison Fell (Leeds), ‘Back to the Front: French and British Female Veteran Groups in the 1920s’

This interdisciplinary symposium will showcase research on any aspect of women’s history in relation to the First World War. We welcome papers on the role and place of girls and women both during the war and also in the years leading up to the outbreak of hostilities and in the decade after. For example, how did literature for girls before the war prepare children for war? How were women involved in pacifist groups? What kinds of work did women do during the war? How were women and girls involved in memorialisation activities? What is the relationship between spiritualism, war and gender politics? Do new transnational paradigms complicate our understanding of women and war? What role did women play in journalism during the war? These are indicative questions only – the symposium is intended to share and develop research on women and the First World War. Papers from a range of fields – including Literature, History, Archaeology, Geography, Politics, Film and Media, Modern Languages, History of Medicine, and Law – are encouraged.

Please send abstracts of 150 words for 20-minute papers to fww@ncl.ac.uk by 15 July 2015.

This event is supported by the North East Research Forum for First World War Studies, the Living Legacies 1914-18 Engagement Centre, the Gender Research Group (Newcastle) and the Military, War & Security Research Group (Newcastle).

Conference Organisers: Stacy Gillis & Emma Short

Download a PDF version of the Call for Papers here.

First World War – Postgraduate Symposium

15 April 2015 @ Research Beehive, Newcastle University

The centenary of the First World War has prompted an immense amount of research investigating the events of 1914-1918 and the legacies of the War. Postgraduate research in particular is at the forefront of new and exciting directions in First World War studies. This interdisciplinary symposium showcases some of the fascinating work being undertaken by postgraduate researchers  on the First World War and its aftermath.

This event contributes to the AHRC-funded Living Legacies 1914-18 Engagement Centre programme, in which Newcastle University is a partner organisation. The Newcastle event is supported by the McCord Centre for Historic and Cultural Landscape (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/mccordcentre/), and the Newcastle Institute for Social Renewal (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/socialrenewal/).

Please find a draft programme for the event here: First World War PG Symposium – Draft Programme. Attendance at this event is free, and a complementary lunch will be provided. Please register here by Tuesday 7 April 2015.

Entrenched (A Work in Progress) – Miscreations Clown Company

Tuesday 9 December, 7pm @ Culture Lab, Newcastle University.

The Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts invites you to a work-in-progress performance of ‘Entrenched’, a new one-person clown show from Miscreations Theatre. The show is inspired by the First World War sketch journals of Major Guy Laing Bradley from Hexham, who fought in the front-line trenches. The performance will also contain animation and filmed elements, and will be of particular interest to writers and those working around issues of performance. As the performance is a work in progress, the director and performer will be seeking feedback and comments from, and to engage in discussion with the audience to explore the extent to which clowning can effectively interpret this kind of challenging material. Further information on the work is available here.

The performance will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 9 December in Culture Lab, Newcastle University. Entry to this event is free of charge, and includes a pre-show supper, but please contact Melanie Birch (melanie.birch@ncl.ac.uk) to reserve a place.