In the Shadow & Light of the Archive: A Day Symposium

Through four different and thought provoking events the speakers and those attending the symposium will take part in a deep reflection on the meaning of the Institute’s work and history. Situated at its heart is the work to catalogue the Institute’s archive, what it means for this unique document of social history to be made publicly available for society at large and those of us working as Tavistock practitioners today.  The opening up of the archive as moving from the shadows of our forebears to standing on the shoulders of giants.

Events confirmed so far:

Interweaving TIHR work in societal change.  Setting two large scale industrial action-research programmes in their historical context, one situated in the Irish fertiliser industry; and the other in an Anglo-Norwegian shipping company highlights both the way institute work is interwoven with societal change; Elliot Stern will talk about how project work feeds into the ‘institute as a laboratory’ where project learning is internalised and conceptual thinking is informed by grounded theory.

On being an orphan, an untold story.  Through engaging with the archive, conversations with colleagues and reflections from her role Eliat Aram tells her story of the journey that brought the Institute to where it is now.

This event can be booked as a full day symposium or you can attend the morning and afternoon sessions separately.

Please indicate number of tickets required to register. 

Reimagining Human Relations in Our Time is a festival celebrating 70 years of the Tavistock Institute. At the heart of the festival is the Institute’s archive which over the last two years has been intricately and delicately catalogued at Wellcome Library. These two things coinciding, our anniversary and the launch of the archive, are a great cause for celebration in particular the insights of our forebears as they tackled past societal challenges and their application to our work today. For instance how can we respond to an environment at tipping point, ageing and social care, displaced people and populations, crises in faith, identity and leadership, our wellbeing at work?

The festival website is the starting place for you to begin your research and participation with access to a rich programme which offers opportunities to take part, reflect, dream, debate, consider, and perform. With its online booking system and easy to view programme you will be able to curate your own festival experience.