The Connected Histories of the BBC Project: Using Oral History and Digital Humanities Methods to Rethink Media History
In this seminar we will explore the BBC’s past, present and future, drawing on the findings of the Connected Histories of the BBC project, led by the University of Sussex. This project has brought rare recordings from the BBC’s vaults into the public realm and linked seven oral history collections together in a free catalogue with juicy curation. Together these let us hear and see how our national broadcaster has imagined – and re-imagined – Britain, its people, and their changing place in the world.
For a broadcaster that claims to speak to the whole nation, the BBC faces continual challenges in its mission to educate as well as inform and entertain. It has not always succeeded in its responsibilities to be truly inclusive, even as it searches for new programmes, new voices, new faces.
Questions of inclusivity are also vital to research about the BBC and wider media histories. We’ll discuss the value of oral history and digital humanities approaches in uncovering and diversifying the intersections of culture, media and society, including a chance to undertake your own searches and play with the catalogue’s resources.
In addressing these methods, we will situate the BBC in wider media landscapes, including the future of public service broadcasting as the BBC celebrates its centenary alongside defending its reputation on multiple fronts.
This page was last updated on 30 June 2024
