Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Making the most of it: black history and British education

Ukaegbu, V. and Ewu, J. (2008) Making the most of it: black history and British education. Lecture presented to: Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA) Annual Conference, The University of Northampton, 12 July 2008. (Unpublished)

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Lecture)
Abstract: The presentation centred on how to use performance to engage, encounter, promote, and to share and disseminate information based on historical and museum documents in public and private collections about the histories of Northamptonshire’s Black communities and individuals over 500 years, and especially since the arrival of SS Empire Windrush at Tilbury Dock on June 22 1948 with 492 immigrants from Kingston, Jamaica and subsequently immigrations and settlements of black peoples in Northamptonshire. The proposed performance was to derive its materials from three activities of the Northampton Black History Project (NBHP): historical research, community archiving and oral history interviews, all funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Home Office with additional support University of Northampton Office of Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning. The performance was to be a collaborative project by the Jawi Theatre Collective, lecturers at the University of Northampton, volunteers and BME groups from Northampton and beyond, and professional artists (playwright, poet, musicians, dancer-choreographer, drummer-instrumentalist, director, stage-manager, and lighting technicians). The project started with a review of archive materials and interviews at Northampton Central Library and the County Records Office and research on the absence of the ‘voices’ or representations of young people of BME backgrounds from these records. This was followed with Drama workshops on Black history with students in some Northampton secondary schools. The project is to create an original playscript from the Black history materials, to stage and tour the performance, using a combination of performance forms such as storytelling, playback (Rowe, 2007), verbatim and documentary drama (Hammond and Steward, 2008), ethnodrama (Saldana (ed.), 2005), music, dance, etc all designed to shine the critical spotlight on subjects such as immigration, race relations and racial discrimination, cultural Identities and Identity crisis, history and education, the internal dynamics of BME communities, achievements and contributions of Black people in Northampton and United Kingdom, etc.
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN3171 Drama in education
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA90 Antiquities. Social life and customs. Ethnography > DA125 Racial groups. Race relations
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA670 Local history and description > DA670.N7 Northamptonshire
Creators: Ukaegbu, Victor and Ewu, Jumai
Northamptonshire and East Midlands: Education, Training and Skills
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Journalism, Media & Performance
Date: 12 July 2008
Date Type: Presentation
Event Title: Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA) Annual Conference
Event Dates: 12 July 2008
Event Location: The University of Northampton
Event Type: Conference
Language: English
Status: Unpublished
Related URLs:
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5155

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