Picking Your Battles: Exhibiting the Falklands/Malvinas War in Military Museums

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A webinar with guest speaker Dr Peter Johnston (Royal Air Force Museum) run by the History & Heritage research theme at the School of Modern Languages. This event is part of the international virtual conference on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Malvinas/Falklands War ‘(Re)thinking Falklands: Visions and Versions in Argentinian and British Cultures’.

Abstract
The events of 1982 continue to cast a long shadow, and while public recognition varies, one place the conflict endures is in the UK’s military museums. Museums sit in the space between myths, truths and complications – but must engage with all three if they are to analyse and discuss war and conflict effectively. This paper will reveal how military museums have presented the Falklands War, and how audiences have responded. Yet the continued display of the conflict poses many challenges for military museums. There are challenges of space, of resources, of relevance. There are problems posed for museums about audiences, and the nature of the exhibits themselves. Since June 1982 there have been tensions and contestations in the history of the war, which show no sign of abating. These challenges to the UK narrative extend to museum exhibitions, and this tension will be explored.

With 2022 being the 40th anniversary of the conflict, this talk will analyse how this is being marked by military museums, and how this is the catalyst for new displays, acquisitions or public engagement. This will demonstrate how the presentation of the Falklands/Malvinas War is not static, but ever-evolving, dynamic and challenging.

Biography
Dr Peter Johnston is a military historian and museum professional. He is currently the Head of Collections and Research at the Royal Air Force Museum. He studied for his Undergraduate and Masters degrees at the University of Durham, and completed his PhD at the University of Kent, focusing on recruitment, culture and combat experience in the British Armed Forces at war in the Falklands. Dr Johnston has acted as an expert and accompanying academic on battlefield tours from Flanders to the Falklands, as well as regularly appearing across media channels.

Event format & recording
The event will take place online as a Zoom webinar and will be recorded for publication after the event.

Simultaneous Translation
The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Wednesday 9 March to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

Registration
When you click on the ‘book places’ button on the left-hand side of this page, you will be taken to a registration page for the international virtual conference on 6-8 April, ‘(Re)thinking Falklands: Visions and Versions in Argentinian and British Cultures’. You will therefore receive full details of the conference however, you may join for this talk only on Thursday 7 April.  There is no obligation to attend the full conference if you do not wish. The registration deadline is at 14:00 (BST) on Tuesday 5 April 2022.

Data protection notice
Please note that when registering, your data will be held in accordance with our Data Protection Notice. We will process the personal data you provide to us in accordance with data protection regulations.