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

自1920年正式开放以来，帝国战争博物馆为公众提供了学习和了解现代战争史和战时经历的机会。随着时间的推移，博物馆提供的展览和公众参与机会利用不断变化的展示和解释模式，挑战观众以新的眼光考虑军事活动和体验。2014年，帝国战争博物馆将成为第一次世界大战爆发一百周年纪念活动的中央协调机构。帝国战争博物馆正在计划重新开发他们的画廊，雄心勃勃的计划是在第一次世界大战和战时经验的历史解释中设定新的标准。这个博士将研究从20世纪60年代开始，帝国战争博物馆的第一次世界大战公共临时和永久展览的介绍，这十年见证了博物馆的彻底重建，虽然到2014年之前画廊的重建计划。除了检查过去的做法，该项目将开发一个帝国战争博物馆的发展计划的展览，纪念2014年百年纪念的活动和相关观众参与活动。在记录自2014年以来第一次世界大战展览的演变过程中，该项目将揭示记忆和纪念实践如何发生变化，并将其置于不同的方法中，了解一战历史该项目将追溯公众参与第一次世界大战的历史，近年来随着最后一名老兵的去世而发生了变化，这已经消除了与战争本身的直接“生活记忆”联系。这一事件，以及即将到来的百年纪念，为帝国战争博物馆创造了一个新的焦点，该博物馆正在寻求更新其对冲突的历史方法，在学术界，公众和大众对第一次世界大战的兴趣日益增加的情况下。该博物馆的重建将是一个非常重要的事件，不仅在博物馆内，而且对其他地方，国家和国际博物馆寻求从帝国战争博物馆重建过程的结果中学习。研究这一重要重建的独特机会是这一博士研究的核心。研究的好处是多方面的。博士生将受益于整个项目的学术，博物馆，遗产和政策背景的工作，获得宝贵的可转移技能。这项研究将激发围绕第一次世界大战遗址和博物馆背景下的纪念，纪念和记忆的展示，展示和参与的讨论。该项目将在文化和历史地理，博物馆，遗产和第一次世界大战研究之间的接口工作，扩展这些领域的学术辩论。这项研究将通过让工作人员参与过去的展示政治，并围绕展示第一次世界大战历史的替代方法展开批判性讨论，为2014年帝国战争博物馆的重建提供信息。在这里，发展系谱学方法和吸引新观众的方法是重要的。重要的是，这项研究将提供一个国家公共机构对第一次世界大战历史的当代和历史呈现的持续分析。通过使用与展览实践相关的封闭档案来源，收集参与策划过去展览的工作人员的新口述历史，以及积极参与2014年的规划，学生将处于独特的地位，为帝国战争博物馆的过去和现在的工作提供关键的透镜。

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.