End of Empire (Channel 4, 1985) and public memory of decolonisation in Britain

Description

The documentary series End of Empire, produced by Brian Lapping for Granada TV and aired on Channel 4 in 1985, represents one of television’s earliest and most comprehensive attempts to come to terms with the end of the British Empire and its legacy in terms of historical responsibility. In its expansive 14 episodes covering from some of most contentious decolonisation episodes, including India, Kenya, Rhodesia, and Palestine among others, End of Empire offered an ambitious attempt to ‘swing the pendulum’ of British public memory of Empire at a key junction in modern British history like the mid-1980s. By discussing the series and the public debate it engendered, this paper will offer a case study of an important moment in the still ongoing process of coming to terms with the historical responsibility of Empire in Britain.

Period	20 Jan 2021
Event title	Mediated Memories of Responsibility
Event type	Seminar
Degree of Recognition	International