Reading Declassified Archives, Landscapes and Memories Together
What happens when secret state and military files return to the communities they describe?
Join us in Taigh Chearsabhagh for Communal Eye, a hands-on participatory workshop exploring the Cold War history of Uist. Together, we will examine recently declassified Ministry of Defence files and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests detailing the establishment of the Guided Missile Range and Cold War military activity across the Outer Hebrides. We will also explore local forms of activism and resistance.
This workshop treats the archive not as a closed history book, but as a space for live conversation. Facilitated by Zsuzsanna Ihar (University of Cambridge), Susannah Bolton (Taigh Chearsabhagh), and Holger Nehring (University of Stirling), we invite you to bring your own local knowledge, stories, and reflections so that we can:
Access formerly restricted archival documents
Interrogate official records and their descriptions of Uist’s land, environment, and people.
Share local memories and alternative perspectives on Cold War militarisation.
Create a communal compendium of reflections that reclaims how Uist’s history is told.
Whether you hold personal memories of the era, an interest in local history, or a curiosity about Uist’s military landscape, your voice is essential.
No academic or historical background required. All materials will be provided, food will be provided also.
With thanks to the Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory, University of Stirling for funding support.