Remembrance, Commemoration and Memory: Negotiating the politics of display in the Imperial War Museum public programmes, 1960 - 2014

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Since it formally opened in 1920, the Imperial War Museum has provided opportunities for the public to study and understand the history of modern war and wartime experience. Over time, the exhibitions and public engagement opportunities offered by the Museum have utilised changing modes of display and interpretation to challenge audiences to consider military engagements and experiences with fresh eyes. In 2014 the Imperial War Museum will be the central co-ordinating organisation for events pertaining to the centenary of the start of the First World War. The Imperial War Museum is planning to redevelop their galleries with an ambitious programme to set new standards in historical interpretation of the First World War and wartime experience.This PhD will examine the presentation of the First World War public temporary and permanent displays in the Imperial War Museum starting from 1960s, a decade that saw radical regeneration of the museum, though to the planned redevelopment of the galleries in the lead up to 2014. Alongside an examination of past practices, the project will develop a critical analysis of the Imperial War Museum's developing programme of exhibitions, events and related audience engagement activities to mark the 2014 centenary.In documenting the evolving process of First World War display since the 1960s the project will uncover how memory and commemorative practices have changed and will situate them within different approaches to understanding First World War histories. The project will trace the history of public engagement with the First World War, transformed in recent years with the death of the last veteran, which has extinguished a direct 'living-memory' link to the War itself. This passing, alongside the forthcoming centenary, creates a new focus for the Imperial War Museum, which is seeking to refresh its historical approach to the conflict, amidst increasing academic, public and popular interest in the First World War. This Museum's redevelopment will be a highly significant event, not only within the Museum, but also to other local, national and international museums seeking to learn from the outcomes of the Imperial War Museum redevelopment process. The unique opportunity to study the unfolding nature of this important redevelopment lies at the heart of this PhD research.The benefits of the research are manifold. The PhD student will benefit from working across the academic, museum, heritage and policy contexts of the project gaining valuable transferable skills. The research will stimulate discussion around the presentation, display and engagement with remembrance, commemoration and memory in First World War heritage site and museum contexts. The project will work at the interface between cultural and historical geography, museum, heritage and First World War studies, extending academic debates in these fields. The research will feed into the 2014 redevelopment of the Imperial War Museum by engaging staff with the past politics of display and opening up critical discussion around alternative approaches to the presentation of First World War histories. Here the development of genealogical approaches and methods of engaging new audiences are significant.Importantly, the research will offer a sustained analysis of the contemporary and historical presentation of First World War histories in a national public institution. By using closed archival sources linked to exhibition practices, collecting new oral histories of staff involved in curating past exhibitions, alongside the active participation in planning for the 2014, the student will be uniquely placed to offer a critical lens on the past and present work of the Imperial War Museum.