Time to Think: Open University Journeys in British and Irish prisons, 1972–2000

Conceived in 2010, ‘Time to Think: Open University Journeys in British and Irish prisons during the years of conflict 1972-2000’ is an oral history project that brings together the voices of Loyalist and Republican ex-prisoners who studied in prison, Open University tutors and staff, prison education staff and Open University students who worked in the prisons. The ethos of the archive and ethical framework, established by former colleague Dr Jenny Meegan, is as an inclusive, cross community project working with participants as co-interviewers and critical friends. This has led to relationships of trust with a wide network of former OU students, many of whom are now community leaders, practitioners, academics, artists and politicians with strong community networks in grassroots conflict transformation and peacebuilding.

Drawing upon the archive’s visual and audio materials, this presentation will discuss the importance of the project in capturing educational journeys and stories of the past which highlight contested spaces and political identities, as well as illustrating that the collection provides an important resource in the present and future.

Please register your interest via the Eventbrite website.

Speaker: Philip O’Sullivan and Gabi Kent (Open University)