Project Overview
Project Grant Year:
2017
Chris Brown
This project is collecting a variety of conscientious objector stories and using them as the basis for a radio play script which will be recorded and made publicly available in October-November 2018 to coincide with the centenary of the end of World War I. The stories will be drawn from a diversity of time periods and conflict contexts (from World War I to contemporary examples) and is designed as a counterpoint to the many celebrative commemorations seen regarding the centenary of World War I. In contrast to these events and their recognition of those who served in military operations, this project seeks to recognise and celebrate those who refused to participate in war.
The stories capture not just the courage of these individuals, but also the ideas, visions and possibilities they provided as an alternative to violent warfare. By sharing these highly personal and compelling accounts of principled opposition to war/violence this project hopes to generate increased awareness and acknowledgement of conscientious objector stories and the constructive ideas they offer in the pursuit of a world without war. By making these stories widely available during the centenary of World War I it is hoped that this project will prompt an ongoing discussion about contemporary war-making, its structural causes/undercurrents and the importance/possibility/emergence of alternative nonviolent forms of struggle. Ultimately, this project suggests/highlights how war is not an inevitable component in human/social relations and that we have many brave stories of resistance and construction from which to draw in building a more peaceful future.