Author: George Thomas

Voices in Iranian Folk Music

Posted on by George Thomas

By Hadi Rahmani, PhD Music candidate, School of Arts

Continuing our series spotlighting PGR summer internship projects, PhD Music candidate Hadi Rahmani tells us about working with Professor Michael Ellison to uncover and study endangered vocal music in his native Iran. As Hadi explains, carrying out this research is vital for ensuring these unique cultural expressions endure for generations to come.

Iran, a land steeped in history and culture, resonates with a diverse array of folk music traditions that reflect the country’s geographical and cultural richness. During this project, I explored the depths of these traditions, uncovering a mosaic of voices that span different regions, each with its own unique flavour and significance.

Overview of Iranian Folk Music

Iran’s folk music reflects the country’s rich cultural diversity, spanning various regions and linguistic traditions. My research covered Azerbaijan, Northern Iran (Talesh, Gilan, Mazandaran, Turkman Sahra), Kurdestan, Khorasan, the Zagros region (Lorestan, Bakhtiyari, Qashqai), Southern Iran (Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan), and Baluchestan, as well as Zoroastrian music from Central Iran. This diverse musical heritage includes languages from the Turkic family (Azari, Qashqai, Turkmen), Iranian languages (Lori, Kurdish, Taleshi, Gilaki, Mazani, Baluchi), the Semitic family (Arabic), and local dialects like Bakhtiyari and Bushehri (Bandari). These regional and linguistic variations contribute to the richness and complexity of Iranian folk music, making it a vital area for preservation and study.

Different Functions of Folk Songs in Iran

Iranian folk music serves a variety of functions, reflecting the cultural and social fabric of the country. These functions include dance music, which energizes social gatherings; lamentation songs, which express grief and sorrow; and ritual music, integral to religious and cultural ceremonies. Therapeutic songs, such as Zār, are used for healing, while Sufi music facilitates spiritual experiences. Epic and storytelling songs preserve historical and cultural narratives, and work songs coordinate collective labor. Additionally, ceremonial songs accompany events such as weddings and other significant life milestones, highlighting the multifaceted roles of folk music in Iranian society.

Connection to My PhD Research and Impact on Composition Work

The exploration of Iranian folk music has been instrumental in my PhD research on counterpoint within Persian traditional music. Many of these folk traditions are closely related to the Dastgah system (Dast meaning hand and Gah meaning a specific place), enriching my understanding of modal structures and their potential for polyphonic development. However, some folk traditions diverge from the Dastgah, offering unique modal qualities and rhythmic patterns that inspire innovative compositional techniques. The modal diversity and rhythmic intricacies of these folk songs, along with their elaborate variations, provide a profound source of inspiration, allowing me to incorporate authentic Iranian elements into my contemporary compositions, bridging traditional and modern musical expressions. Engaging deeply with Iranian folk music has not only expanded my research skills but also broadened my cultural horizons. It has prepared me for the collaborative nature of academic publishing, as I worked to synthesise these findings within a broader scholarly context. I’ve gained profound insights into the neglected folk traditions from remote corners of Iran, fostering a deeper appreciation for the country’s musical heritage and its socio-cultural significance.

Interdisciplinary Connections and Challenges in the Research

Conducting research on Iranian folk music has revealed significant interdisciplinary connections and challenges. Ethnomusicology, sociology, psychology, music therapy, and history intersect in this field, highlighting the rich cultural and social contexts of the music. However, a major challenge is the lack of resources, particularly academic works and expert analyses of folk music, many of which are in danger and require urgent preservation. This scarcity necessitates extensive fieldwork and primary data collection, which, while enriching, can be time-consuming and complex. Despite these obstacles, the interdisciplinary nature of this research offers a comprehensive understanding of Iranian folk traditions and their broader implications. Through this internship, I was able to utilise my knowledge of Iranian music to uncover and study regional voices and source recordings, providing key insights that will contribute to both the Centre for Asian Music Studies and the groundwork for future research in contemporary ensemble performance and composition.

In conclusion, my journey into Iranian folk music has been transformative, offering profound insights into its cultural tapestry and enriching my academic pursuits. Many of these folk traditions are in danger of being forgotten and require more attention to preserve them. I am excited about the future potential of this research, both in advancing scholarly discourse and contributing to the preservation of Iran’s diverse musical traditions. Research like this is vital for ensuring these unique cultural expressions endure for future generations.

Hadi Rahmani is a PhD candidate in Music Composition, focusing on polyphony within Persian traditional music. His research delves into the modal and rhythmic structures of Iranian folk traditions, exploring their potential for contemporary composition. To find out more about the project, please contact hadi.rahmani@bristol.ac.uk. To read more PGR summer internship projects, visit Arts Matter.

The Long and Winding Prosecution of Red Terrorism in Italy: A Database of Trials

Posted on by George Thomas

By Tom Baker, PhD Italian candidate, School of Modern Languages

In the first of a new series spotlighting PGR summer internship projects, PhD Italian candidate Tom Baker tells us about working with Professor John Foot on the Italian terrorist trials of the 1970s and 80s. Together, they created a database of trials mapping the activity of armed Left-wing groups who sought to overthrow the Italian state.

I undertook a PGR internship under the supervision of Professor John Foot during the summer of 2024. We worked together over the course of six weeks researching and documenting the trials of those accused of acts and affiliations in relation to ‘Red’ terrorism (perpetrated by armed Left-wing groups) in Italy during the ‘Years of Lead’. The ‘Years of Lead’, from roughly the 1970s through until the mid-1980s, was a period of societal unrest, with both Left- and Right-wing armed groups carrying out targeted assassinations, kidnappings, robberies, opportunistic shootings and bombings. After a terrorist act, it was often unclear which group was responsible, let alone which individuals within the group were involved. Thousands of such incidents required thorough investigation and unravelling, much like the complex networks of the terrorist groups themselves.

The photo above was taken by Paolo Pedrizzetti in Milan during the ‘Years of Lead’. The young man in a ski mask (centre) was a member of a far-left organization which pulled out their pistols and began to shoot at the police, killing policeman Antonio Custra on May 14, 1977.

There were many changes to Italian law to overcome terrorism in Italy. Changes to procedures, how long and where an individual could be detained, a tightening of prison facilities (to arrest the rash of breakouts) and special bomb proof court rooms with cages constructed. The starting point for our research begins after a notice for arrest was issued. Using digital archives of trial material, newspaper archives, books, interviews and other sources we began to piece together the complex tapestry of the Italian state’s attempt to prosecute the armed Leftist groups.

The project is an important one, as our research shows there exists no complete database of the hundreds of trials of accused Leftist terrorists in Italy. The fact that we focused on red terror as opposed to both red and black (Right) terror significantly focused the research, as to attempt both would dilute the project given the time constraints. As for a timespan, we decided on 1974 – marked by the arrest of the historical leadership of the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades), the largest Left terror group during the Years of Lead – to 1994, when the Autonomia Maxi trial concluded. This trial was part of a broader legal process that began in 1979 and involved individuals accused of being the ideologues behind left-wing terrorism. A maxi trial, now more familiar with Mafia trials, is a good example of the changing procedures in judicial process during the Years of Lead. Several hundred people would be tried together under extreme levels of security. This security was necessary as several trials were postponed as Left-wing terrorists targeted and killed judges to halt the prosecution of their comrades and the revolution. Even today, trials of some Left-wing terrorists in Italy remain unheard, as the Italian state continues to seek extradition of individuals believed to be responsible.

A photograph from the trial of the historical leadership of the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades) in Turin, 1976. The defendants, often caged, refused to recognise the court’s legitimacy and regularly attempted to disrupt proceedings.

Given the time constraints we faced and the sheer volume of material we decided it was best that I first focus on listing where this trial material can be found, so this project has an easy access point for continuity. Following this I researched individual acts of terrorism, read newspaper archives (il Manifesto, Il Messaggero, La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera) for police appeals and reports, the arrested suspects and their subsequent trials. From here, I would note the dates of the trial, in which court the trial took place, who the judges were and the outcome to build the database. Some individuals, particularly those most active in their organisations, appeared in court over a dozen times. Their sentences would often change, there were appeals, overturned convictions and a change to their status – such as benefitting from a law passed in this period for dissociation with armed struggle leading to a much lighter sentence.

On a personal note, starting an exciting project from scratch has helped me further develop my research skills and I have enjoyed the opportunity of working closely with my supervisor. We hope that this research will be a starting point in the complex process of collating the terror trials in Italy, bringing together the fragmented yet interconnected legal processes which ultimately ended in success for the state.

Tom Baker is a PhD candidate in the School of Modern Languages with research interests in labour history, deindustrialisation, transformation of work, social movements and oral history. To find out more about the project and database created with Professor John Foot, contact ks21162@bristol.ac.uk. To read more PGR summer internship projects, visit Arts Matter.

The Liberation of France: 80 Years of objets de mémoire

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By Damien McManus, Professor Martin Hurcombe, Dr Charlotte Faucher, Dr Federico Testa, Louisiane Bigot 

August 2024 marks 80 years since the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation in the summer of 1944, a decisive and highly symbolic moment in World War II. In celebration, the School of Modern Languages and Library Services, with support from the University’s Theatre Collection, the French Government’s Mission Libération, and AUPHF+, held an event in June to commemorate the D-Day landings and the importance of objets de mémoire (objects of memory) as powerful reminders of the struggle against oppression.

French Forces of the Interior (FFI) barricade, the liberation of Paris, World War II, 1944.

This event was held to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy which took place in June 1944, and the subsequent liberation of France that year. Supported by the French Government’s Mission Libération, it comprised an exhibition of photographic images and original documents selected from the University Library and the Theatre Collection; and a series of short presentations and discussions around the intellectual and cultural context and legacy of resistance to the Nazi occupation of France 1940-44. Material for the exhibition was chosen from two areas of the collections: the University of Westminster War and Culture Studies Archive which is now housed at the University’s Library Services, and the Irving Family Archive, located in the Theatre Collection, also at Bristol.

A number of themes provided the focus of the exhibition and traced aspects of the French experience of the war. The first of these reflected attempts to bolster morale during the early days of the Occupation and included representations of life for French people in exile in the UK. Others reflected how keenly the French in exile in the UK anticipated Liberation, before the exhibition moved on to the aftermath of the Normandy landings, and the gradual lifting of the Nazi Occupation.

A major source for texts and images around these themes was La France libre [Free France], which was published first in London, then Paris, from November 1940 to December 1946, and which sought to fight against the acceptance of defeat, and advocate resistance and the restoration of freedom to France. Among the writings and images selected were satirical pieces depicting occupying forces as brutal simpletons in contrast to the more erudite French population; and intriguing adverts for a range of products from quintessentially French brands such as Michelin tyres to less well known and possibly more controversial items, to the French at least, such as Marmite. Photographs taken on the day of the liberation of Paris and of celebrating civilians in Normandy and the capital served to remind viewers of the relief felt at the end of the Occupation.

Image courtesy of the Irving Family Archive. Courseulles-sur-Mer is a coastal town in Normandy, known for its proximity to Juno Beach, one of the D-Day landing sites during World War II.

The Irving Family Archive provided some fascinating images of the planning and execution of the landings at Normandy. Laurence Irving, a prominent Hollywood set designer and Intelligence Officer with the Royal Air Force, specialised in the analysis of low-level reconnaissance photographs, some of which were displayed, marked up with vital information about coastal defences. Other images provided impressions of the destructiveness of war and powerful portraits of captured German equipment and vehicles.

Presentations and a panel discussion rounded off the day’s proceedings. Dr Federico Testa provided an account of the tensions between the ideas of pacifism and justice, and in particular the moral and ethical dilemmas facing the French during World War II. Professor Martin Hurcombe spoke about Les Amants d’Avignon (The Lovers of Avignon] written by Elsa Triolet and published clandestinely under the pseudonym of Laurent Daniel, and focused on the roles of women in the Resistance, which have very often been overlooked. Dr Charlotte Faucher framed her talk around a photograph of Résistantes from the BBC Yearbook 1945, taken when the impression among some British people was of well-fed French civilians at a time of rationing in the UK, and outlined her interviews with former female resistance fighters who firmly countered that view. Lastly, Professor Debra Kelly (emerita, University of Westminster, who kindly organised the donation of the War and Culture Studies Archive) discussed the 1946 novel, Siege of London written by (Mrs)Robert Henrey (sic), real name Madeleine Gall, a member of the French community in London.

Professor Martin Hurcombe provides historical context to visitors at the exhibition.

This was a hugely enjoyable exhibition to organise, and the presentations and discussions were fascinating, enlightening and full of debate. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect was the range of people who came to see the exhibition and to attend the discussions, from members of the public to groups of sixth formers from Bristol and Cardiff who were evidently very engaged with the collections, especially as they were directly connected to their A-Level studies.

With thanks to Damien McManus, Library Services, Professor Martin Hurcombe, Dr Charlotte Faucher and Dr Federico Testa in the Department of French, and PhD candidate Louisiane Bigot in the School of Modern Languages. To find out more about the University of Westminster War and Culture Studies Archive, visit Library Services. To find out more about the Irving Family Archive, visit the Theatre Collection.

Fit for combat? Ancient and modern perspectives on war preparedness

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By Dr Hannah-Marie Chidwick, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Ancient History, School of Humanities, Dr Daniel Leightley, King’s College Military Health Research Centre, King’s College London and Grace Williamson, King’s College Military Health Research Centre, King’s College London

Dr Hannah-Marie Chidwick and her collaborators tell us about a new project which explores the complexities of ‘combat readiness’, both physical and psychological, by drawing comparisons between ancient and modern warfare. The project recently received an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account award and brings together expertise at the University of Bristol and King’s College London.

Against an increasingly volatile geopolitical backdrop of ongoing conflicts, what it means to be ‘combat ready’ feels ever more pertinent. The concept has evolved throughout history, reflecting changes in military technology, tactics, societal attitudes, and the nature of warfare. Despite many differences, combat readiness in the ancient Greco-Roman world can inform how (and how far) we can prepare for war today.

Policies concerning military and veteran health, including training and wellbeing management, do not always succeed in maintaining stability after service. Significantly higher rates of alcoholism, emotional problems, family problems, and other serious issues are found amongst ex-service personnel versus civilian. Military and veteran health therefore needs new perspectives and strategies to enhance understanding and inform policy-making, to allow for interventions before and during service rather than only dealing with the aftermath.

Greek terracotta oil flask depicting a battle between Greek and Amazon fighters, 5th century BCE

The project ‘Preparing the Body and Mind for War in the Ancient and Modern Armed Forces’ launched in October 2022, from an interest in military health shared between Dr Hannah-Marie Chidwick, who brings expertise in ancient Roman war narratives, and Dr Daniel Leightley at KCL’s Military Health Research Centre, who contributes experience as a British Army Reservist, plus expertise in mental health and technology. After a pilot online event (funded by Bristol’s Elizabeth Blackwell Institute), the project gained support from the AHRC IAA seed fund for further knowledge exchange workshops. Discussions engage academics, service personnel and healthcare professionals, to explore the lasting benefits of military service and the negative repercussions for veterans and families.

For instance, early findings point to camaraderie as a key factor in long-term health amongst military personnel. A strong sense of mutual trust, friendship, and interpersonal bonding between members of military units has remained vital to feelings of readiness since antiquity, and aids in coping with trauma. Conversely, hazardous alcohol use as a tool to facilitate such cohesion remains a significant but highly detrimental part of Western military cultures. There is evidence of excessive consumption of ‘liquid courage’ being normalised, sometimes encouraged, in both antiquity and modernity, leading to a legacy of alcohol-related harm amongst veterans. Other pertinent factors include physical fitness – still an essential component of modern military strategy despite technological advances – as well as trust in commanders, clothing and visible allyness, and support from military families.

‘A strong sense of mutual trust, friendship, and interpersonal bonding between combatants has remained vital to feelings of readiness since antiquity’

Workshop participants have already described how these early discussions will impact their understandings of combat readiness and military health, both historically and today. In a world where war and genocide continue to dominate our headlines, this project will now seek to build partnerships with research beneficiaries and decision-makers, to explore how individuals can be better prepared for the realities of war.

Dr Hannah-Marie Chidwick is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Ancient History with research interests in war and violence in ancient and modern narratives. To find out more about the Preparing for War project, contact hc6198@bristol.ac.uk or visit the project website.

Botanical Art, Women and Medical Education

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By Dr Sarah MacAllister, Department of History of Art, School of Humanities

Dr Sarah MacAllister tells us about a collaborative project exploring the ways in which female botanical artists have contributed to medical knowledge. Utilising extensive relevant art collections at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), the project highlights the work of numerous female illustrators who have hitherto gone unrecognised. The project recently received an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership and runs until September 2027.

Medical students in the eighteenth and nineteenth century across Europe learnt physiology and anatomy, not only of human bodies, but also of plants. Lecturers displayed large, bold, colourful botanical diagrams from classroom walls to enhance teaching and captivate their audiences.

Plant teaching diagrams might also help public health education today. Botanical artworks represent another way of perceiving plants, which is nuanced and sensitive and with scientific naming and understanding at its heart. Visual narratives of plant lives present aspects of plant behaviour, thereby developing an understanding of plants as active beings rather than passive objects. There is something to protect and engage with here beyond the generic ‘green’.

This painting of Dionaea Muscipula (Venus fly trap) was used as a hanging wall chart by John Hutton Balfour, Regious Keeper and Botany professor at Edinburgh Medical school from 1841-1879. This teaching diagram is unattributed, and may have been painted by a male botanical artist. However, it owes a debt to Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), who pioneered artistic representation of the ecological relationships between insects and plants.

This project seeks to address the historic neglect of female botanical artists. What exactly was their role in teaching botany for medicine? The research team includes Dr Grace Brockington, Associate Professor in History of Art, and Professor Ulrika Maude, Director of the Centre for Health, Humanities and Science, as well as Emma Nicholson, Head of Creative Arts at Creative Scotland and Research Associate at RBGE, and Lorna Mitchell, Head of Library and Archives at RBGE.

Although botanical drawing was long established as a suitable pursuit for ladies, women were excluded from institutional scientific activity. They did not have publication rights and were not allowed to join the Royal Society until 1900. Medicine was patriarchal in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the idea of women attending medical school ridiculed by male doctors. As one eminent physician put it: ‘uteruses would atrophy, and their brains would burst’. The first women to matriculate at Edinburgh Medical School in the mid-nineteenth century, the ‘Edinburgh Seven’, faced abuse and hostility.

The contribution that female botanical artists’ have made to science and medicine has also been suppressed by their historical treatment. The systematic exclusion of women from the history of science was originally described by the suffragette Matilda Gage in her essay ‘Woman as Inventor’ (Gage 1883), one hundred years later this obliviating, patriarchal mechanism was dubbed the ‘Matilda effect’ by the historian Margaret Rossiter.

This hanging wall diagram of the Lewisia rediviva plant (bitterroot) also belongs in the John Hutton Balfour collection of teaching diagrams. It was copied from an original artwork by Walter Hood Fitch in Curtis Botanical Magazine. There is circumstantial evidence that Marion Spottiswoode Bayley Balfour, wife of John Hutton Balfour, may have drawn up the diagram.

Archives held at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh will be the starting point for engaging with collections of botanical artworks used in teaching medicine. How were different types of scientific knowledge communicated and what does this indicate about historic values and views of plants? A key focus will be on how women were involved in the creation of visual narratives in teaching, whether directly or indirectly, and bringing their contribution to light. Thematic connections will be mapped between collections elsewhere in Scotland and the UK, the outcome of which will be detailed catalogue entries interpreting and contextualising the artworks meaning, historic usage and circulation.

Dr Sarah MacAllister is an early career researcher in the Department of History of Art with research interests in ecological literacy and visual narratives. To find out more about the Plants and Pedagogy project, please contact smacallister@rbge.org.uk.

Beyond Voice: A project about silence in depression and bipolar

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By Dr Dan Degerman and Dr Jae Ryeong Sul, Department of Philosophy, School of Arts

Dr Dan Degerman and Dr Jae Ryeong Sul tell us about their project which seeks to highlight the underappreciated and vital role silence plays in the lives of people with mental illness. In doing so, the project will challenge the denigration of silence in mental health. The project recently received an AHRC Research Development and Engagement Fellowship and runs until June 2025.

When we talk about silence in mental illness, it is nearly always as something harmful that we need to ‘break’. Of course, some silences in and around mental illness should be broken. Think of the silence of someone afraid to talk about their distress because of mental health stigma. Or, think of the silence of someone who wants to share their distress but can’t find the words to make others understand.

However, silence is a diverse experience, as most of us will recognise from our own lives. Silence can be painful, imposed, and disempowering. But it can also be pleasant, chosen, and empowering. While it can feel like a barbed cage that keeps us from saying what we want, it can also feel like an oasis of freedom from other people’s demands.

Why should we think that silence in mental illness is any less diverse? Our AHRC-funded Beyond Voice project suggests there’s good reason not to.

Beyond Voice is a philosophical project that sheds light on the role of silence in the lives of people with depression and bipolar. Our research engages deeply with first-person accounts of people with lived experience of these illnesses from different backgrounds. That involves analysing autobiographical accounts and qualitative research, as well as working with a research advisory group consisting of both experts-by-experience and mental health professionals who provide invaluable guidance on our research.

Mapping the rainbow of silence

So far, our research has shown that many first-person accounts defy common assumptions about silence in depression and bipolar. For one, they suggest that silence can be part of what it means to be depressed. The writer Andrew Solomon, for instance, writes that depression ‘is like going deaf, hearing less and less until a terrible silence is all around you until you cannot make any sound of your own to penetrate the quiet’.

“Silence can be painful, imposed, and disempowering. But it can also be pleasant, chosen, and empowering.“

By contrast, in the manic episodes that form part of bipolar, the loss of silence can be a source of suffering and longing, as the writer Bassey Ipke suggests in her account of such an episode: ‘The thoughts have started to flood. They tumble and race so quickly that only focusing on [the cab driver] helps slow their circling. … [M]y mind is never quiet’.

These are just two examples of the rainbow of silence experiences – to borrow a metaphor from our advisory group – that people with depression and bipolar report. The first key objective of our 18-month project is to begin to map out that rainbow.

A better understanding of the variety of silences that occur in depression is not simply a matter of dotting some ‘i’s in an otherwise complete picture of depression and bipolar.

A clearer picture of the rainbow of silence will have important practical implications for people with those illnesses and those who want to help them, including friends and family, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. The second and third objectives of Beyond Voice are to draw out those implications.

The implications of silence for mental health

Some implications have already begun to emerge.

Since silence can be a part of what it is to be depressed or a desperate attempt to keep the worst consequences of mania at bay, we need to recognise the potential harm that the blinkered insistence on ‘breaking the silence’ around mental illness can have.

For example, other people’s well-intentioned appeals to share experiences or unsolicited advice can cause more harm than good to an individual whose depression is so severe that they cannot speak and do not even feel the urge to. In such cases, simply sitting with them in silence – honestly acknowledging the depth of their despair and quietly blunting their isolation – may instead be the crucial first step towards providing the appropriate support.

In other words, we must consider how we can help those who want to speak to do so without pathologising and pressurising those who cannot or have good reasons not to.

Our work will continue over the next year and we’d love to hear from you with your own thoughts on and experiences of silence.

Dr Dan Degerman is a Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and is interested in issues at the intersection of mental health, emotions, and politics. His first book Political Agency and the Medicalisation of Negative Emotion has just been published in paperback. Dr Jae Ryeong Sul is a Research Associate in the Department of Philosophy with research interests in phenomenology and philosophy of psychiatry. To find out more about the Beyond Voice project, please contact dan.degerman@bristol.ac.uk.

Queer Screen Cultures in the 21st Century: Embedding Diversity, Inclusivity and Representation in Audio-Visual Media

Posted on by George Thomas

By Dr Miguel García López, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, School of Modern Languages

Dr Miguel García López tells us about a collaborative project which seeks to increase the visibility of LGBTQIA+ people in audio-visual media. With LGBTQIA+ characters in film and television productions consistently underrepresented, Miguel’s research is a timely intervention. The project recently received an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account Award and underlines the positive effect arts and humanities research can achieve. 

Existing research on the social impact of audio-visual work underscores the stagnant and low levels of diversity in audio-visual media and focuses on the representation of diversity as a driving factor of structural change. Through my work on queer film and television in the Hispanic world, I’m interested in exploring how the 21st century has brought about important changes in terms of LGBTQIA+ visibility and discourses around diversity and inclusivity in Spanish-speaking contexts. This is how I came in contact with ODA (Observatory for Diversity in Audiovisual Media), which is the primary organisation monitoring, analysing, and providing public data on diversity levels in audio-visual representation in Spain. The organisation produces an annual report on the representation of LGBTQIA+ and minoritized communities in film and television and provides training and consultation services to filmmakers, filmmaking companies (Netflix, Prime Video), policy makers in governmental institutions (the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and Audio-visual Arts, the Ministry of Culture) and individuals on how to produce inclusive audio-visual works and embed inclusivity and diversity into events, communications, and activities.

Alba Flores, Spanish actor and LGBTQIA+ activist, at the ODA 2023 Awards ceremony.

Our project ‘Queer Screen Cultures in the 21st Century’ seeks to increase the visibility, inclusion, and agency of LGBTQIA+ people and minoritized communities in audio-visual media. Funded by the AHRC Impact Accelerator Account Knowledge Exchange Placement scheme, the project involves a six-month collaboration between Dr Miguel García López and ODA, which will help the partner organisation reach wider audiences through training and knowledge exchange activities, bringing together academics working in the fields of queer and film studies and non-academic members from the audio-visual industry. These will involve training and consultation events in Spain and the UK, the translation of ODA’s annual report into English and the creation of a transnational network through an online newsletter, enabling both the partner and the researcher to engage with key stakeholders, establish transnational links between Spain and the UK and develop a sustainable long-term collaboration. Dr Simon Brownhill, Senior Lecturer in Education, has also recently joined the project as Research Ethics lead and will support with data collection, analysis and dissemination.

Asaari Bibang, Frank T and Lamine Thior at the ODA 2023 Awards ceremony. Their podcast, No hay negros en el Tíbet (There are no blacks in Tibet), seeks to increase Black representation in Spanish audio-visual media.

I will work closely with the partner organisation, collaborating in the creation of the organisation’s annual report, providing academic research expertise in training and consultation activities, and helping ODA to establish a transnational network for the promotion of diversity in audio-visual media. We will combine our research on queer audio-visual culture, consultation and advising services and activities monitoring the representation of diversity in film and television to attain structural social change in the audio-visual industry in Spain and the UK. Our collaboration will provide a bi-directional space of learning and knowledge exchange for subjects with lived experience of discrimination and inequality and for stakeholders in the audio-visual industry seeking further diversity and inclusion. This placement will help us build and maintain an environment and culture that enables effective and ambitious knowledge exchange and impact, including development of skills, capacity and capability within the University and address cultural barriers for arts/cultural sector collaborations with Higher Education Institutions.

Dr Miguel García López is Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies and researches on queer representation in Hispanic film and television. He collaborates with UK filmmakers and organisations like the British Film Institute. To find out more about Miguel’s research and the ODA partnership, please contact miguel.garcialopez@bristol.ac.uk.

*Images taken from ODA’s official website (oda.org.es): ODA’s logo and images from this year’s ODA Awards ceremony, celebrating diversity and inclusion in Spanish audio-visual media.

The feminine art of the hustle: how Britons became obsessed with working for themselves

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By Dr Amy Edwards, Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, School of Humanities

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Dr Amy Edwards tells us about her project which will explore the history of women’s self-employment between 1970 and 2000. Through oral history interviews and archival research, the project will tell the story of the many thousands of women who worked for themselves in contemporary Britain. The project recently received an AHRC Research Development and Engagement Fellowship and runs until August 2025.

The way we work in contemporary Britain is changing. Working from home, hustle culture, flexi-work, the gig economy: these are all familiar phrases that capture something about the nature of when, how, and for who we earn money in the twenty-first century. At the heart of many of these developments is the idea that working for ourselves is a dream job.

My current project, ‘The Secret of My Success’: Women and Self-Employment in Britain (1970-2000), seeks to tell the history of Britain’s self-employed women to better understand our ways of working today. Working arrangements and business practices targeted at women throughout the post-war period pre-empted many of the ‘new norms’ we view as recent developments. In 1965, the Financial Times reported that British industry had begun ‘assiduously courting’ some ‘seven million married women’ as part of a drive to boost its labour force. ‘Women power’ it seemed, had become one answer to the problem of how to secure business growth. For one group of companies in particular, women’s economic agency, both as consumers and as sellers became the basis of their business model: direct sales. In the mid-twentieth century, American companies like Tupperware and Avon made their way across the Atlantic, bringing with them new distribution methods, which relied upon the social networks, bonds, and domestic spaces of women’s lives. In so doing, they promised economic independence and flexible working conditions suited specifically to women and other economically marginalised groups in the form of the self-employed sales representative.

Tupperware advertisement featuring a Joe Steinmetz photograph, c.1958, State Archives and Library of Florida, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250.

Over the coming year, I’m going to be using the archives of companies like Avon, newspaper reports covering the direct sales industry, and oral history interviews to find out more about why women chose to take the leap and ‘set up shop’, and what life was like when they did. Oral history methods are an established part of contemporary historical practice and can be an excellent way of hearing the perspectives of people whose voices don’t always end up recorded in institutional records. By talking to women about their experiences of self-employment, I hope to understand how practices like working from home, subcontracting, and the dream of working for oneself became so central to our society. These women experienced both the liberating potential of new post-war business practices as well as trajectories that involved being pushed into low-skilled, part-time, precarious work.

As part of this project, I’m lucky enough to be working with Bristol Special Collections to store the oral history stories I’ll be collecting. I’m also going to be working with a local filmmaking company, Black Bark Films, to make a short documentary film about what it has meant to work for yourself as a woman over the past 70 years. Through workshops with local charities and policy makers, along with a film launch I am also hoping to help shape the ways we think about and support women’s entrepreneurship in Bristol today.

Avon Outlook, Campaign 5, Box 103, Campaign Mailings 1969 (Accession 2155), Hagley Museum & Library, Wilmington, DE 19807. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

To learn more about the project you can hear me talking about it with the Hagley Museum and Archive where the Avon Company archives are held. This will be available from the 15th April.

Interested in being involved? 

If you are a woman who was self-employed at any time during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s (whether as a direct sales rep, a franchisee, a freelancer, or running your own business etc.) I’d love to hear from you. If you’d consider recording your memories as part of this research project, please get in touch with me at amy.edwards@bristol.ac.uk.

Dr Amy Edwards is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History with research interests in the culture that surrounds business, finance, and capitalism in contemporary societies. To find out more about Amy’s research, her first book Are We Rich Yet, or ‘The Secret of my Success’ project, please contact amy.edwards@bristol.ac.uk.

Voicing Silence: Amplifying the Voices of Non-Recent Child Sexual Abuse

Posted on by George Thomas

By Dr William Tantam, Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, School of Arts

Dr William Tantam tells us about a collaborative project which sought to challenge the silencing of child sexual abuse. Taking an arts-led approach, William and his collaborators produced a ‘zine’ to engage mental health professionals, academics, and most importantly, survivors of child sexual abuse, placing their voices at the centre of clinical and policy discussions. The project received an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account award and William has since received a REPHRAIN grant to further his research.

‘Voicing Silence: amplifying the voices of victims and survivors of non-recent child sexual abuse’ sought to challenge the silencing of child sexual abuse through attention to the ways in which victims and survivors are, or have been, silenced. This silencing includes inappropriate or improper responses to disclosures of sexual abuse, poor follow up, disbelieving, and no further action taken to reporting. It also includes the pervasive cultures of silence that coalesce around child sexual abuse which make it more difficult for victims and survivors to report at the time of the abuse, and to delay disclosing the sexual abuse until later in life.

The Breaking Silences zine produced by William and his collaborators.

  • To navigate through the zine, click on the arrow icons in the bottom left and right of the zine.
  • To view the zine in full screen, click on the second icon in the top right of the zine.

The zine and workshop emerged from a network of academics, clinicians, therapists, and activists (some of whom are victims and survivors). At the heart of the group was a commitment to centring the needs and perspectives of victims and survivors, and ensuring that their voices feed into practice and policy. Network members have also disseminated the zine in their different academic, clinical, and activist communities in order to reach as wide an audience as possible, including in NHS trusts, clinical training groups, and academic environments. It is also being used as a learning material at the Tavistock Trauma Centre for professionals likely to receive disclosures of child sexual abuse.

“We wanted a zine that captured the challenges of child sexual abuse and silences, but which also captured the hope and possibilities enabled by survivor-centred approaches“

The process of producing the zine enabled the group to clarify our meanings and understandings. In preparation, each of us submitted two sentences of what we would like to say in the zine. Armed with Pritt sticks and sheets of coloured card we spent two hours in groups cutting up the sentences, placing them in different orders, and considering how the meaning, tone, and voice changed as we spliced together different passages. Often these new combinations generated deeper meaning and turns of phrase, or produced new insights that we hadn’t quite articulated in our initial attempts. We were inspired by the wonderful ‘Mad Zines’ project and tried to draw on some of the energy and vitality produced in their outputs. 

A further strength – and really the heart of the final output – was the creative contributions of members of the group. Dr Khadj Rouf (zine co-editor and Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) provided beautiful poetry, complemented by a cover artwork by Dr Sara Scott, and incredible illustrations provided by the multi-talented Jenissa Paharia. We wanted a zine that captured the challenges of child sexual abuse and silences, but which also captured the hope and possibilities enabled by survivor-centred approaches.

“At the heart of the group was a commitment to centring the needs and perspectives of victims and survivors, and ensuring that their voices feed into practice and policy”

Drawing on this initial project, and a further ESRC IAA grant exploring how to improve responses to disclosures of child sexual abuse, I have developed a further project into the particular challenges faced by survivors of online-facilitated child sexual abuse, funded by REPHRAIN. Working with Dr Susanna Alyce, Co-Investigator, this new project incorporates a survivor-produced ‘zine’ that will provide key learning into this area that remains under-explored, and from the people most impacted by these insights. We are delighted to be working with SARSAS, the Survivor’s Trust, and Survivors Voices in this new project which hopes to deploy survivor-centred insights for real-world change.

Dr William Tantam is Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology with research interests in trauma and gendered violence, and technology-facilitated sexual abuse. To find out more about William’s research, the Breaking Silences zine and his new REPHRAIN grant, please email william.tantam@bristol.ac.uk.

Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger

Posted on by George Thomas

By Professor Sarah Street, Professor of Film and Foundation Chair of Drama, School of Arts

From October to December 2023, the British Film Institute (BFI) curated a special UK-wide season of screenings and events to celebrate the work of visionary British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. In a partnership spanning thirty-three years and twenty-four films, Powell and Pressburger transformed cinema with their bold storytelling and vivid cinematography, most notably in The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. As an academic specialist on British cinema history, Professor Sarah Street participated in several of the events and here tells us about her contributions.

To mark the opening of the Cinema Unbound season, the BFI published The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger, a superbly illustrated book co-edited by Nathalie Morris and Claire Smith. This includes a chapter by Sarah Street on the filmmakers’ extraordinary use of Technicolor which draws on research arising from several major projects on colour films led by Sarah Street and funded by the AHRC and Leverhulme Trust. It was also informed by her in-depth study of Black Narcissus which features with a link to a chapter in the BFI/Bloomsbury’s Screen Studies online publication on Powell and Pressburger. The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger includes many sumptuous images showcasing an extraordinary range of original set and costume designs, photographs and objects, many of which are in the BFI’s own archives. The book was launched at the BFI Southbank in conjunction with the opening of a major exhibition on The Red Shoes. A special cake was made to mark the occasion.

As part of the Powell and Pressburger season the BFI held several discussions on fascinating dimensions of their work. Sarah Street contributed to ‘Centre Stage: The leading women of Powell and Pressburger’, appearing alongside Professor Lucy Bolton (Queen Mary, University of London), critic, writer and historian Pamela Hutchinson and writer Lillian Crawford. The second panel discussion was ‘Queering Powell and Pressburger’, with Dr Andrew Moor (Manchester Metropolitan University), Emma Smart, Director of Collections, Learning and Engagement at the BFI, and Zorian Clayton, Curator of Prints at the V&A and BFI Flare programmer. Each panelist chose extracts from a selection of Powell and Pressburger’s films which illustrated many key themes. These included queer perspectives on the films, offering fresh understandings of iconic performances by well-known actors such as Anton Walbrook and Ruth Byron, and British character actors such as Charles Hawtrey and Judith Furse.

Professor Sarah Street (third from left) participates in a panel discussion on the theme of ‘British Blonde’

Sarah Street is currently collaborating with Claire Smith, Senior Curator of Special Collections at the BFI and Professor Melanie Bell, University of Leeds on a three-year research project, ‘Film Costumes in Action’, funded by the AHRC. She also recently contributed to a panel discussion held at the V&A in connection with a series of lectures by art historian Professor Lynda Nead, Birkbeck, University of London, funded by the Paul Mellon Centre. These were on the theme of ‘British Blonde’, focusing on four celebrated, notorious blonde women: Diana Dors, Ruth Ellis, Barbara Windsor and Pauline Boty. Filmmakers Catherine Grant and John Wyver made four video essays in response to the lectures which were discussed in the last session of the series by Sarah Street and Professor Melanie Williams, University of East Anglia.

Professor Sarah Street is Professor of Film and Foundation Chair of Drama in the Department of Film and Television. A member of our Screen Research Group, Sarah has published widely on British cinema history and the importance of preserving colour film in the archives. To find out more about Sarah’s research, including her current AHRC investigation into ‘Film Costumes in Action’, please email sarah.street@bristol.ac.uk.