Posts Tagged ‘IHR’
January 8, 2019
Monday 14th January 2019
Max Schmeling and his attendants celebrate victory – come along to the IHR on January 14th to find out who he battered and why it mattered.
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Kicking off 2019 will be Dr Jon Hughes of Royal Holloway who will be talking to us about ‘The Biggest Boxing Match in Europe’. To find out more read his abstract below and then come along to what should be a stimulating discussion next Monday.
I would offer insights into the fight between Max Schmeling and another German boxer, Walter Neusel, in August 1934. The fight was stage managed, under the Nazis, at a huge open-air venue in Hamburg and attended by at least 80,000, possibly more. It was an interesting example of the Nazis experimenting with the propaganda potential of sport, two years before the Olympics, and formed part of a failed bid to move the symbolic focus of professional boxing away from the USA and back to Europe, and to Germany in particular. I’ll look at the circumstances surrounding the match (Schmeling’s first in Germany since 1928) and its representation in the media, reflect on the geopolitics of boxing in this era, the symbolism of the heavyweight title, and the compromises that the Nazis were willing to make – neither Schmeling nor Neusel were conformists in any sense, as both had Jewish managers and had been reluctant to compete in Germany. This occasion is much less well known than e.g. Schmeling’s two fights against Joe Louis, but in many ways just as interesting.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series. For the details of seminars forthcoming in 2019 go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the John S Cohen on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:Boxing, British history, BSSH, Germany, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Jewish, Royal Holloway, Schmeling, Sport History
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December 4, 2018
Monday 10th December 2018
“A Game Was More Than A Game” –Sport, Integration and Interwar British Jewry with Dr Dave Dee
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Our final seminar of the term will be given by Dr Dave Dee from De Montfort University who will talking to us about the sporting experience of British Jews between the wars.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series. For the details of seminars forthcoming in 2019 go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:British history, BSSH, Dave Dee, De Montfort, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Jewish, Sport History
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November 20, 2018
Monday 26th November 2018
‘A festival of self-punishment’: Englishness, British cycling and the Tour de France, 1918-39 with Dr Neil Carter
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Our fifth seminar of the term will be given by Dr Neil Carter from De Montfort University who will talking to us about a rather neglected era of British cycling history, the 1930s, when Charles Holland and Bill Burl became the first British men to take part in the Tour de France. To find out more read Neil’s abstract below.
In 1937 Charles Holland and Bill Burl became the first British cyclists to ride in the Tour de France. Their presence represented a brief if symbolic moment of modernity for British cycling. This paper examines the socio-economic and cultural roots of this particular episode and how it tapped into changing ideas of Englishness.
The Tour de France, with its modernising tendencies, commercialism and especially its type of racing – massed start racing – offered a stark contrast with British cycling’s overwhelmingly amateur culture, both in terms of ideology and as a voluntary activity. In particular, the time-trial was the main form of road racing in Britain. It embodied an idealised and pastoral vision of England that many of cycling’s administrators and supporters promoted through their writing and images.
During the 1930s, however, British cycling underwent a transformation. Not only was there a boom in the number of cyclists more generally, but a shift in its image reflected the new consumerism of the decade. Moreover, a fashion for massed-start racing, copied from the continent, began with races taking place on motor-racing circuits. As a consequence, there was a backlash amongst cycling’s traditional supporters. Underpinning this resistance was a defence of the time-trial, which reflected wider cultural anxieties within society over the impact of modernity.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series, scroll down for the details of future seminars or go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:British history, BSSH, Cycling, De Montfort, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Neil Carter, Sport History, Tour de France
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November 3, 2018
Monday 12th November 2018
‘Motor Sport Through a Lense, and the establishment of a Heritage visitor attraction at Silverstone’ with Professor Jean Williams
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Our fourth seminar of the term will be given by Prof Jean Williams from the University of Wolverhampton. She’ll be talking to us about motorsport and using the rich archive at Silverstone racetrack to explore the history of British motor racing in the twentieth century.
As usual there’ll be a feast of images – I was particularly taken with the Martin Parr-esque depiction of tea in the preview that Jean was able to give me. While there will be discussion of the big beasts of Formula 1, such as James Hunt …
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… Jean will also be opening up the history of women in motorsport.
Whether you’re a petrolhead or historically curious do come along to what promises to be an excellent talk.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series, scroll down for the details of future seminars or go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:British history, BSSH, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Jean Williams, Motorsport, Sport History
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October 18, 2018
Monday 29th October 2018
‘American Tourists in Britain in the 1950s: Archetypes, Prejudices and Realities with Dr John Law
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Our third seminar of the term will be given by a Dr John Law from the University of Westminster. He’ll be talking to us on a subject drawn from his forthcoming book on Americans visiting or living in Britain in the 1950s and their (sometimes horrified) reactions to what they found there.
As you can see from the cartoon above that I found on John’s website the American tourist in London often cut a distinctive dash in the urban scene. The paper promises further rich visuals as well as material drawn from archival sources and interviews with US survivors of 50s Britain, its weather, its food, and its hotel rooms.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series, scroll down for the details of future seminars or go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:1950s, American history, bloomsbury, British history, BSSH, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, John Law
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October 7, 2018
Monday 15th October 2018
‘Sarah Meyer, An Englishwoman in Japan: Judo as Propaganda in the 1930s’ with Amanda Callan-Spenn
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects to pique the interest of the historically inclined.
Our second seminar of the term will be given by a post-graduate researcher from the University of Wolverhampton, Amanda Callan-Spenn. Her subject, Sarah Meyer, is a woman whose career reads like the plot of a Booker-shortlisted novel.
But don’t just take my word for it, come along to the seminar on Monday 15th October to find out how Meyer became one of the pioneering figures in the globalisation of martial arts between the wars.
This is only the one of a number of series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR in the S&L series, scroll down for the details of future seminars or go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:Amanda Callan-Spenn, bloomsbury, BSSH, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Japan, Judo, Sarah Meyer, Sport, Sport History
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September 23, 2018
Seminar #1
Round Table on South African cricket with Raf Nicholson and Richard Parry
It’s a real pleasure to be one of the convenors for the British Society of Sports History sponsored Sport & Leisure History seminar series at the Insitute of Historical Research. And this term we have a diverse range of speakers and subjects, kicking off on Monday 1st October with a round table discussion about the hidden histories of South African cricket. Each of the speakers’ material is based on a chapter from a forthcoming publication, Cricket and Society in South Africa, 1910-1971, to be published by Palgrave in autumn 2018.
Our first seminar features two speakers. Raf Nicholson will talk about international women’s cricket during the apartheid era while Richard Parry will discuss cricket among indigenous mineworkers on the Rand. And I’ll be acting as chair in my capacity both as co-convenor of the seminar and a contributor to the book with a chapter on the first South African men’s cricket captain, Percy Sherwell. Do come along to listen to our guests and to join in the debate about the role of sport in the development of South African society in the twentieth century.
This is only the beginning of a series of stimulating talks to be held at the IHR, scroll down for the details of future seminars or go to the IHR’s website. The talks take place in the Past and Present Room on the second floor – doors open from 17:15 and the seminar to start promptly at 17:30. I hope to see you there.
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Tags:bloomsbury, BSSH, cricket, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, South Africa, Sport, Sport History
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June 5, 2018
One of the perks of being a part-time academic is having to do lots of unpaid work aimed at raising one’s profile within your discipline. However, sometimes this work is more a pleasure than a chore. Such is the case with being a co-convenor on the IHR’s (Institute of Historical Research) Sport and Leisure History seminar series.
Our next seminar is led by Dr Melanie Bassett of the University of Portsmouth who will be talking about the role of sport in the training and recreation of workers in the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth. Having just spent a couple of days in Portsmouth myself I can testify to the continuing importance of sport in the culture of the Royal Navy, especially given the amount of land given over to sports grounds in the city centre.
The Royal Dockyard glittering in the Pompey sun
Abstract
Royal Dockyard workers in late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain were an essential component of Britain’s imperial defence. They were employees of the state who built the nation’s fighting ships. However, in an era of ‘high imperialism’, preoccupied with efficiency and racial degeneration, the Admiralty paid very little mind to the fitness and health of a vital and highly skilled section of their workforce.
In contrast to the men of the Royal Navy, who were by the late 1880s subject to the beginnings of a movement to ensure their efficiency and moral welfare through gymnastic instruction, the Royal Dockyard Workers’ activities were not centralised, nor were they particularly encouraged. Instead, the availability of sporting provisions was generated by the workmen themselves and more akin to what was occurring in other industrialised workforces but without the paternalism.
The paper will outline and evaluate the context which shaped the sporting and physical fitness provisions for Royal Dockyard workers during the period. It will first explore the contextual historiography to show where gender, class, and imperialism have intersected in order to illustrate how historical enquiry can inform an understanding of sport and the British people. The paper will then address the differences in attitudes and provisions for military and civilian employees of the Admiralty before turning to explore working-class exposure to prevailing attitudes to sport, masculinity, and the British Empire. Finally, the paper will highlight how the Royal Dockyard worker used the discourses of imperial efficiency and self-improvement to gain advantages in a world of expanding leisure opportunities.
The examples will show the wide ranges of sporting activities in which Royal Dockyard workers took part and will also explore the idea of ‘playing at being soldiers’ through involvement in the Volunteer and Territorial Forces was viewed by the Admiralty. Rather than being merely ‘caught’ in the intricate web of imperial discourse, this paper will demonstrate the innovative and self-starting attitude of various Royal Dockyard workers and the rhetoric they employed in order to turn the situation to their advantage.
Dr. Bassett will be speaking in the Past and Present room at the IHR at 5.30pm on Monday 11th June 2018.
#History #royalnavy #Portsmouth
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Tags:history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Media, Military, Portsmouth, Royal Navy, Sport
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May 8, 2018
One of the perks of being a part-time academic is having to do lots of unpaid work aimed at raising one’s profile within your discipline. However, sometimes this work is more a pleasure than a chore. Such is the case with being a co-convenor on the IHR’s (Institute of Historical Research) Sport and Leisure History seminar series.
Our next seminar is by Professor Matt Taylor of De Montfort University on sport and the BBC during World War Two. The paper is drawn from research from Matt’s book on Sport and World War Two which should be appearing towards the end of 2018 so there’ll be plenty of scope in questions for discussing the role of sport both in the home front and the armed forces. The abstract appears below.
Prof. Matt Taylor will be speaking in the Past and Present room at the IHR at 5.30pm on Monday 14th May 2018.
Abstract
Existing studies of the wartime BBC have explored the role of the corporation in promoting a unitary sense of British identity (Nicholas, 1996; Hajkowski, 2010; Baade, 2012). Perhaps because it is often erroneously dismissed as having had little wartime significance, sport has been almost completely ignored in this literature. This paper sets out to put this right by examining how sport was treated by the BBC during the Second World War and the extent to which the conflict altered existing relationships between the broadcaster and sporting bodies.
Drawing mainly on material contained in the BBC Written Archive at Caversham Park, this paper will consider three main aspects of the relationship between the corporation and wartime sport. First of all, it will assess the role of the BBC as a facilitator, as well as a straightforward broadcaster, of sporting events, connecting this to wider debates over popular recreation and public morale. Secondly, it will gauge the success of the BBC in accommodating the national-regional tensions endemic in wartime Britain. Finally, it will examine how sport was ‘represented’ in BBC programming; in live and delayed transmission but also in the ‘retrospective’ features which became a characteristic of wartime sports broadcasting. The main argument of the paper is that sport in general (and certain sports in particular) became key elements of the BBC’s wartime policy to maintain civilian and military morale; and that in the process, the connections between sport and notions of class, war and Britishness were redefined.
#History #BBC
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Tags:BBC, history, IHR, Institute of HIstorical Research, Media, Media History, Military
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