Archives aLive

This academic year the Modern Records Centre is launching an exciting, new project for its partner schools. Archives aLive gives 30 current Year 9 students a fantastic opportunity to transform their academic research into an imaginative performance piece. This is a two-year project, which focuses on exploring and developing research techniques and skills.

 

Project Outline

February—March 2015: Research Workshops with the MRC and Sociology Department

Students will attend a series of workshops, working with archive material to gain an understanding of their research topic ‘Unemployment’. They will also attend a session with the Sociology department to build upon their previous research, debating the issues surrounding unemployment and applying them to relevant social contexts. To consolidate this thought, the students will collectively produce a public exhibition of the archive material.

May 2015: Theatre Studies Workshops

These sessions will focus on the development of dramaturgical skills, which will allow the students to turn their research into a performance. With a performance script having been created, the student groups will stage a small-scale production of their work for peers.

2016: In the second year of the project, we will invite back the two groups to develop their skills further. They will work on the theme of ‘What education means to me’. The second year of the project will take the same form as the first, though it will be adjusted and expanded in response to the evaluation of the first year.

 Aims:

To introduce students to Higher Education, Warwick University and its resources. By working with different departments, students will experience a range of disciplines at degree-level. To explore and develop research skills: students will handle authentic archive material; think critically about the implications of these sources; gain an understanding of effective research dissemination; form artistic ideas; and learn creative processes for their outputs. To support students in their self-development, improving confidence, effective communication and group work skills.

Specification

We are recruiting a group of fifteen Year 9 students from two different schools. These same students will return for the second year of the project. The event is aimed at widening participation in higher education, and raising the aspirations and confidence of young people as such, selected students should:

• Be in receipt of free school meals and/or eligible for pupil premium

• Come from a lower socio economic background

• Not have a background of HE in their immediate families

We are delighted to offer this event free of charge to all of our partner schools. If you have any queries or to register interest please contact Nuala: n.m.clarke@warwick.ac.uk