www.bl.uk/eccles-centre

ProgrammeSpring/Summer 2018

www.bl.uk/eccles-centre

About the Eccles Centre for American Studies

The Centre was founded by David and Mary Eccles in 1991 with the goal of promoting research into the British Library’s North American collections, and of supporting North American studies in the UK more generally.

The British Library is home to one of the world’s greatest collections of books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers and sound recordings relating to Canada, the USA and the Caribbean. The Eccles Centre aims to promote research and learning based on these holdings through a lively and diverse programme, which includes funding awards, lectures, discussion panels, conferences, concerts, seminars, publications, teacher and student events, and digital resources.

The Centre works closely with the British Library’s Americas curatorial team, and collaborates with a range of partner organisations that are equally passionate about research into the peoples and cultures, histories and futures of North America.

Roseate spoonbill feeding. A colour illustration by John James Audubon from The Birds of America © British Library Board

The Eccles Centre hosts and supports a range of events of general interest, often in partnership with other organisations. Events in spring and summer 2018 include:

The Vietnam War Q&A with Filmmaker Lynn Novick Tuesday 10 April 19.15 – 20.30

Join filmmaker Lynn Novick (The Civil War, Baseball, Prohibition), long-term collaborating partner of the legendary Ken Burns, as she showcases excerpts from and discusses their most recent work, the epic ten-part 18-hour documentary, The Vietnam War. £10 / £8 / £7 / Knowledge Centre

In association with PBS America

Sarah Churchwell: Behold America Wednesday 9 May 19.15 – 20.30

A history of ‘America First’, one of Donald Trump’s campaign slogans, exposing the long, dark history of ‘100 per cent Americanism’ and isolationism.£10 / £8 / £7 / Piazza Pavilion

Buffalo Bill Goes to China Wednesday 9 May 19.15 – 20.30

Roll up, roll up for historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s exploration of Buffalo Bill’s 1901 Wild West Show. What can a strange yet spectacular re-enactment of an anti-Christian uprising in China tell us about America’s understanding of the country?£8 / £6 / £5 / Knowledge Centre

Secret Affairs: Spies and the Special Relationship Tuesday 15 May 19.00 – 20.00

Gordon Corera delivers the annual Douglas W Bryant Lecture and explores how the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America’s intelligence agencies has evolved and asks what challenges lie ahead. Preceded by a drinks reception.

Free / ticket required / Knowledge Centre

Public Events and Exhibitions

The Last Poets in Conversation Thursday 17 May 19.15 – 20.30

The legendary collective of black poets and musicians talk about their story alongside writer Christine Otten, who turned it into a novel. Formed in New York in May 1968 and mixing militant poems with funky conga rhythms, they are now acclaimed for their influence on rap, hip hop and soul.£10 / £8 / £7 / Piazza Pavilion

In association with Apples and Snakes

The Death of Captain Cook Friday 18 May 19.15 – 20.30

Why was Captain Cook killed? Join historians Vanessa Collingridge, Steven Hooper and Ruth Scobie to revisit Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, 14 February 1779, a day that has provoked speculation, controversy and myth-making.£8 / £6 / £5 / Knowledge Centre

Part of the events programme for the exhibition James Cook: The Voyages, 27 April–28 August 2018

The death of Captain Cook. Captain James Cook was killed in Hawaii in a fight with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779 © British Library Board

Late at the Library: Superjam – 50 Years of Radical Words featuring The Last Poets and Michael Horovitz with Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Ben Okri and guests Friday 18 May 19.30 – 23.00

An extraordinary night of performance poetry and music to celebrate 50 years of US pioneers The Last Poets, featuring special guests from the worlds of poetry and music.£25 / £22 / £20 / Entrance Hall (standing event)

In association with Gearbox Records and Apples and Snakes

American Film Musicals and the Reimagining of World War One Monday 21 May 12.30 – 13.30

A lunchtime talk by the Deputy Head of the Eccles Centre Cara Rodway, exploring how Hollywood musicals of the 1940s linked America’s entertainment heritage with its victory in the Great War. £5 / £4.50 / £4 / Knowledge Centre

Benjamin Markovits: A Weekend in New York Tuesday 5 June 19.15 – 20.30

What if the happy families are actually the most unique of them all? Dare to question Tolstoy and join Benjamin Markovits, 2015 Eccles British Library Writer’s Award winner, as he discusses his new novel exploring family life, professional tennis and the changing shape of America in the 20th century. Followed by a drinks reception.

£10 / £8 / £6 / Piazza Pavilion

Survivors: American Presidents and the Politics of Scandal Tuesday 12 June 19.15 – 20.30

Clinton got through one. Nixon’s forced him from office. As Donald Trump re-writes the rules on presidential behaviour, join our discussion on scandals and how to survive them, chaired by the author and broadcaster Gavin Esler. £10 / £8 / £6 / Piazza Pavilion

The Immeasurable World: Exploring Global Deserts Thursday 14 June 19.15 – 20.30

Journey across the desert landscapes that have fascinated explorers and writers for millennia. William Atkins, 2016 Eccles British Library Writer’s Award winner, explores the life, history, and iconography of these untamed places, in conversation with Philip Hoare.Followed by a drinks reception.

£10 / £8 / £6 / Piazza Pavilion

Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land

1 June to 21 October 2018

The Eccles Centre is delighted to support an important new exhibition marking 70 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex. Through literature, personal correspondence and official reports – from a 1940s suppressed report detailing labour protests and rebellions across the Caribbean to E R Braithwaite’s annotated typescript of To Sir, With Love – this free Entrance Hall Gallery exhibition will explore the significance of the arrival of the Windrush within a broader narrative of Caribbean history. Entrance Hall

The Eccles Centre is also supporting a number of events in connection with the exhibition.

British Trade in Black Labour: The Second Middle Passage Friday 15 June 19.00 – 20.30

Professor Sir Hillary Beckles examines the circumstances which lead to the 1940s ‘second Middle Passage’: people from the Caribbean re-crossing the Atlantic, this time freely, in response to a call for their labour.£10 / £8 / £7 / Knowledge Centre

Some of the first migrants from Jamaica arrive at Tilbury on board the Empire Windrush 22 June 1948

From Black Lives Matter to the White Power Presidency: Race and Class in the Trump Era Friday 22 June 17.00 – 18.30

A leading scholar of the Black Lives Matter movement, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, will discuss BLM, and race and class in America in the age of Trump.£12 / £10 / £8 / Knowledge Centre

Black Lives Matter in the US and UK Today: An Activist Panel Saturday 23 June 18.00 – 19.30

Come and hear US and UK Black Lives Matter leaders talk about why they are a part of BLM, their goals and methods, and the challenges facing the movement in the US and UK today.£12 / £10 / £8 / Knowledge Centre

Eccles Centre Summer Scholars Season

Throughout June and July

This Summer Scholars Season of free lunchtime talks highlights the latest research being done by the Centre’s Fellows. Find out more: www.bl.uk/eccles-centre/events

Podcasts of many of our events can be streamed or downloaded through the Eccles Centre’s Soundcloud, available at www.bl.uk/eccles-centre/resources/lectures-and-interviews

Some of the first migrants from Jamaica arrive at Tilbury on board the Empire Windrush 22 June 1948

Black Lives Matter march, 8 July 2016 © Alisdare Hickson

Douglas W Bryant Lectures Since 1993 the Eccles Centre has hosted an annual lecture named in memory of Douglas W Bryant, the President of the American Trust for the British Library, 1990 – 1994. The 2018 Bryant lecturer will be Gordon Corera, BBC Security Correspondent.

Past lectures include:

The Post-Racial Condition of Trump’s Possibilityby Kimberlé Crenshaw

Populism and the Presidency by Martin Dickson

Magna Carta: 1776 and All Thatby Matthew Barzun

How Dismal is the Future of American Politics? by Tony Badger

From Acadie to Arab Spring: Reflections on America’s Place in the Worldby Lyse Doucet

Rorschach President: How Barack Obama Personifies the Anxieties and Aspirations of Americaby Gary Younge

Why Men Hate to Talk about Relationships: the US, the UK, and the Atlantic Allianceby Philip Bobbitt

Anti-Americanism in the 21st Centuryby Simon Jenkins Marathon: Looking Back at the Historic US Election of 2008 by Larry Sabato

Constitutions: Does America’s Work? Does Europe Need One? And What About Us? by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard

The New Security: A Post-Cold War Understanding of Security in the 21st Century by Gary Hart

The US – The Role of World Leader: “A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind…” by Baroness Williams of Crosby

The text of all the Douglas W Bryant series of lectures is available at www.bl.uk/eccles-centre/resources/lectures-and-interviews

Gordon Corera

Supporting Research

Visiting Professorships, Fellowships and Postgraduate Awards

A number of awards are made each year to support scholars based in the UK, Europe and North America who need to visit London to use the British Library’s collections relating to the Caribbean, the USA and Canada. Opportunities are available for researches at all stages of their academic career. Details of the programme can be found at www.bl.uk/eccles-centre/fellowships-and-awards/fellowships

Research recently and currently supported includes: Professor Katherine Adams, Tulane University – Cotton Culture and Blackness after Emancipation Dr Joan Sangster, Trent University – Suffrage Cultures: Canadian Women’s Suffrage in Comparative Perspective Dr Mark McLay, University of Glasgow – The Republican Party and the Defeat of the War on Poverty, 1964–1973 Dr Sue Currell, University of Sussex – New Masses: The Big Red Little Magazine, 1926–48

American and Canadian Studies Conferences

The Eccles Centre sponsors plenary lectures by major scholars at the annual conferences of the British Association for American Studies (BAAS) and the British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS) and the biennial European Association for American Studies (EAAS) conference.

Research Support

The Centre hosts a number of academic conferences and seminars at the British Library Knowledge Centre. Costs, management and audience development are often shared with partners, and many such proceedings are published. Events in summer 2018 include:

The Black Lives Matter History Network Conference 22–23 June 2018

This major conference brings together activists and scholars to offer an in-depth exploration of this vitally important movement.

Study Resources

The Centre offers introductory sessions to the North American collections, suitable for advanced undergraduates to PhD researchers. Contact the Centre for more information.

The Centre has produced a series of bibliographic guides and web-based exhibits designed to help and inspire researchers exploring the British Library’s North American collections. All the guides are available at www.bl.uk/eccles-centre/resources.

Recent additions include:

The Harlem Renaissance: A Selective Guide to Materials at the British Library

The Federal Writers’ Project: A Guide to Materials at the British Library

Early American Science: A Selective Guide to Materials at the British Library

Supporting Schools

Supporting North American Studies in schools is an important part of the Eccles Centre’s programme. Congress to Campus UK includes two one-day conferences at the British Library in the autumn and a series of events outside London in spring. Two former US Congressmen are joined by UK based academics to discuss and explain current US politics. Now in its sixteenth year, the event is organised with the support of the US Association of Former Members of Congress and the US Embassy in London.

Science DayA day of scientific experimentation and discovery for primary school students, inspired by the legacy of Benjamin Franklin. With Benjamin Franklin House.

Science Day © Ander McIntyre

Music cover. Votes for Women. Shows the American flag and liberty bell © British Library Board

The Eccles British Library Writer’s Award

The 2018 Eccles British Library Writer’s Awards were given to novelist and short story writer Stuart Evers, and the author, librettist and screenwriter Tessa McWatt.

The Award, the largest of its kind for a work in progress, was set up as part of the Centre’s mission to promote awareness of the British Library collections relating to North America and to help facilitate the use of these collections. Each of the winners will use the collections to research their upcoming publications.

Stuart Evers will be researching his novel The Disappearances, which centres on a writer’s obsession with history’s most confounding cases of missing people. Tessa McWatt will be working on a memoir entitled Porous: A Memoir of Race and Stories, in

which she will set out to explore the hybridity of her racial and cultural heritage, and to try to understand the social whiteness, political blackness and cultural duality of what privilege she possesses.

Past recipients of Eccles British Library Writer’s Award (previously the Writer in Residence Award) include novelist Hannah Kohler; musician, writer and film producer Bob Stanley; William Atkins, author and editor; Alison MacLeod, novelist and short story writer; academic and writer Sarah Churchwell; author Benjamin Markovits; writer and poet Olivia Laing; author and journalist Erica Wagner; historian Andrea Wulf; poet and novelist John Burnside; novelist Naomi Wood; and historian Sheila Rowbotham.

Tessa McWatt and Stuart Evers © Ander McIntyre

PublicationsRecent publications include:

Sounds Southern? The Southern Operas of Delius, Davidson and the Drive-By Truckers by Brian Ward (British Library 2017). BAAS conference plenary lecture.

Margaret Atwood in Conversation with Carol Ann Howells (British Library 2017). BACS conference plenary lecture.

The American Nuclear Cover-up in Spain by John Howard (British Library 2016). BAAS conference plenary lecture.

Populism and the Presidency by Martin Dickson (British Library 2016). The 21st Annual Douglas W Bryant Lecture.

Writing, Talking and Walking Québec’s Eastern Townships by Ceri Morgan (British Library 2016). BACS conference plenary lecture.

For further information about the Centre contact:

Eccles Centre for American StudiesThe British Library96 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2DB

T +44 (0)20 7412 7757/7551 @BL_EcclesCentreeccles-centre@bl.uk Full details of the Eccles Centre’s programme can be found at www.bl.uk/eccles-centre

Front cover image: A French map of North and Central America c. 1875 © British Library Board