Media histories, heritage and archives

We have actively sought to develop, enhance, research and make accessible special collections either held at Stirling or within Scotland which have media and cultural history relevance to both academic and public audiences.

Archival research has placed emphasis on the co-creation of projects with a range of national partners in order to extend the reach and public impact of the activity. This includes distinguished archival and heritage interventions, monographs and edited collections on media histories which form the basis for this field of strength in Communications, Media and Culture which aims to unlock major cultural assets. Significant collections including the Musicians Union Archive and the Commonwealth Games Scotland Archive have formed the basis for both a major AHRC-funded-research project and a highly successful knowledge exchange activity.

This archival work expands on previous research on the Stirling-based collections of filmmaker Lindsay Anderson, documentarist John Grierson, animator and artist Norman McLaren and the interviews collected under the Scottish Cultural Memory Project funded by Creative Scotland, which have enhanced the importance of such precious archives, brought them to international attention and are now fully catalogued in readiness for future scholarship.

Research has also advanced new media histories, such as the award-winning monograph, BBC Sport in Black and White, work on Early Scottish Cinema and long-standing research into experimental film-maker and poet Margaret Tait, which has raised international public awareness of the artist’s work through film festivals, exhibition, online resources and new experimental film works. Our work on early television drama has been particularly focused at wider public audiences through an edited collection of non-fiction work of screenwriter Denis Potter; numerous essays for DVD and Blu-Ray booklets; and contributions to the BFI’s Screenline and Mediateque. Unlocking media and cultural archives for scholarship and public use therefore form a central theme of CMC’s research and shall continue to be an inspirational resource for future research projects, PGR recruitment, collaborations and impacts.