KEY HIGHLIGHTS
ARCHIVE LED TEACHING
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
ENQUIRIES - TOPICS AND THEMES
STATISTICS - VISITS AND ENQUIRIES
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Visiting researcher, Konkuk University, S. Korea, 31 Jan – 15 Feb
In February we were delighted to host a two week visit from Dr Sun Hwa Park (pictured) who is researching the writing of Doris Lessing including 'The Golden Notebook' and 'The Good Terrorist'.
Visit from Naomi Alderman, 5 March
It was a delight to receive a visit from one of our exciting contemporary authors Naomi Alderman before her stimulating and engaging discussion at the Enterprise Centre with Julianne Pachico. A new tranche of Alderman’s archive is being processed for release into the reading room after coming out of embargo. Watch this space for updates!
Visit from Sir Paul Nurse, 11 March
Sir Paul Nurse, geneticist, Nobel prize winner, and UEA graduate visited the Archives to look back at his time with us in the 1970s and to key moments in the history of the School of Biology. Sir Paul was shown a motion he proposed in 1971 on freedom of speech and how the University’s administration might tackle the crises being faced at that time.
His wife Anne has a particular interest in children’s illustrated books and was shown original ink drawings by Blakeney artist Cecil Mary Leslie, colour layouts for Charlie Higson’s young Bond novel 'Silverfin', Danny Hahn’s draft translations of a book by illustrator Roger Mello, and cards from Dick Bruna – creator of the popular rabbit character named Miffy.
UEA 60th Anniversary Foundation Display
This display can now be viewed in the Archives foyer. It was previously installed in TEC for Court and in the lecture theatre foyer for Sir Paul’s visit.
ARCHIVE LED TEACHING
Creative Encounters, LDC (PGT) 1 February
In this module students are given a series of creative adventures. The ‘encounter’ is about site-specific writing and in particular the UEA campus. In their visit to the Archives they looked back to our pre-history - a time when the site was a much loved golf course; they gained a sense of the architect’s vision through early development plans; and saw photos of the site under construction, of quirky happenings, and the impassioned protests in the 60s and 70s. Attendees: 20
New Forms: Writing in Collaboration, LDC (UG) 14 February
Week 3 saw an exciting new teaching session in the reading room. Forty students came to view the archive of poet and artist Jay Bernard. The archive contains stunning visual material and shows Bernard’s work as firmly rooted in archival research. Students were invited to return in small groups to view other archive collections and be inspired, producing their own collaborative creative pieces grounded in their archival experience. Attendees: 40
Doing History, HIS (UG) 26-28 February (7 sessions)
Undergraduate history students were introduced to the Kenney Papers, the archive of two working class suffragettes. As one of our visitors noted: "You can’t learn how important sources are without experiencing it”. Attendees: 57
Sara Taylor’s Creative Process The Shore, LDC (UG) 4 March
Always a favourite session with the archive, seeing talented, emerging creative writers examine the creative process of author and UEA graduate Sara Taylor. The group examine three drafts of a short story which becomes a chapter in the novel 'The Shore'. The group visit the original archive material to see the visual mapping done by Taylor in creating the world of her characters from family trees to storyline mapping. Attendees: 27
Cultural Heritage and Archiving in the Digital Age, AMA (PGT) 5 March
A behind the scenes tour and hands on experience of archival digitisation make this session a morning of cultural heritage experience which adds value to our collections every time it runs. Students create digital surrogates of archives from 1917 and add accompanying metadata using Dublin Core metadata standards. Practice is the best way to understand why planning, structure and careful decision-making lie at the heart of archival best practice. Attendees: 6
Digital Humanities Theory and Practice, AMA (UG) 6 March
Students of the digital humanities wrestled with identifying obsolete media from the Archive’s store. From floppy discs to VHS, from magnetic tape to mini discs the session looked at identifying and salvaging information from these problematic formats and the way that impacts cultural heritage practice. Attendees: 18
Digital Archives, PPD (PGR), 19 March
With Grant Young (Academic Engagement Librarian).
Research students encounter digital archives in many different ways during their research journey. From seeking sources to creating new data sets, an understanding of what drives the creation of digital archives can help make sense of what’s available and what isn’t. Examining barriers to digitisation and questions of provenance, description and access, this session helps students navigate the world of digital archives, its limitations and possibilities. Attendees: 3
Product and Process in Translation, LDC (PGT), 21 March
Translation students came to examine Tom Phillips’ 'A Humument: a Treated Victorian Novel'. The students also looked at poetry ‘word art’ by Anthony Vahni Capildeo a writer and nonfiction author whose archive is deposited at UEA as part of the Uncollected Poets project of 2022-2023. Attendees: 10
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Special Collections event to occasion the arrival of Anna Sewell’s ‘Black Beauty’, 28 February
This new special edition, signed by Her Majesty Queen Camilla, is a collaboration between Red Wings Horse Sanctuary and UEA Publishing Project. The Archives exhibited treasures relating to Women Who Changed the World (suffragette archives of Annie and Jessie Kenney; Doris Lessing Archive; Joelle Taylor Archive, Sara Maguire Archive and Patricia Crampton Archive). Our special guests included an inscribed first edition of Black Beauty from Norfolk Libraries Heritage Centre, kindly loaned for the occasion. Redwings is the custodian of Anna Sewell House, the birthplace of the author.
History Special Subject, 12 March
With Hugh Doherty (Lecturer in Medieval History). Attendees: 13
The Roman Empire: Citizens, Slaves and Imperial Families, 21 March
In this session undergraduate students are introduced to the UEA Archives and Special Collections through the ‘second Roman treasure’ of UEA. Students are led from the time of the Roman Empire to the present day at UEA Library through the exploration of our precious 15th century manuscript of Cicero’s Philippica. Attendees: 33
ENQUIRIES - TOPICS AND THEMES
BACW COLLECTIONS
DORIS LESSING correspondence TASH AW novels and the creative process W.G. SEBALD recorded interviews
OTHER COLLECTIONS
JOHN HILL ARCHIVE coastal flooding KENNEY PAPERS diary of a 1917 trip to Russia PRITCHARD PAPERS Mansfield Forbes (historian) UEA COLLECTION Horsham residences; small bands and the local music scene ZUCKERMAN ARCHIVE Central Advisory Council for Science and Technology; Operation Overlord; Aurelio Peccei (Italian industrialist and philanthropist)
STATISTICS - VISITS & ENQUIRIES
Archives: 369 (46 remote): UEA 309; UK 41; Int’l 19
Special Collection titles consulted: 24
Microfilm: 2
