Syracuse University Libraries’ Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, part of the Special Collections Research Center, is sponsoring a public lecture on Friday, Oct. 21, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library, Room 114. The lecture, “It was known as the place where nothing ever happens. But it did. It did: trauma, identity, community and the 1988 Lockerbie bombing,” is part of the University’s Remembrance Week 2022 programming.
The lecture will feature Dr. Andy Clark of Newcastle University and Dr. Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland. They will discuss their recent criminological oral history research with first responders to the Lockerbie disaster site. Drawing upon an attentiveness to sensory experiences and the role of the senses in memory, they discuss three themes that emerged through their research interviews: the ways in which the event, and the memories of disaster scene, are narrated by responders through the lens of trauma and emotional response; the role of identity—particularly professional identity—in the narratives of responders; and the role of community in capturing the collective belonging of first-responders who were brought together as a result of the Lockerbie bombing. Themes discussed will resonate with other communities who have suffered through disasters.
This year marks the 34th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. Each year, the University’s Remembrance Week honors the 270 people, including 35 students studying abroad through the University, who lost their lives in the tragedy. The Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives in the Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center collects, preserves, and provides access to materials that document the bombing and its aftermath, and provides a place to personalize and honor the 270 victims, their families, and communities.
About the Presenters
Andy Clark
Dr. Andy Clark is a researcher with the Oral History Unit at Newcastle University, England. He has led several oral history projects on work, the labor movement, women’s history, factory closures, organized crime and, since 2019, the Lockerbie disaster. In 2021, Clark was awarded a prestigious New Investigator Award from the Economic and Social Research Council. His first book, “Fighting Deindustrialisation,” will be published by Liverpool University Press in November. Clark was born and raised in Greenock, Scotland, the town where convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi served his prison sentence prior to release in 2009, and the international media attention on the town sparked his initial interest in learning more about the tragedy.
Colin Atkinson
Dr. Colin Atkinson is a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at the University of the West of Scotland. Before joining the University of the West of Scotland, he held the position of research fellow at the University of Glasgow. Colin’s research interests focus mainly upon the intersection of crime, policing, intelligence and security, particularly as these issues relate to terrorism and organized crime. Colin has a professional background in intelligence analysis and counterterrorism in Scotland and worked alongside several police officers with first-hand experience of the response to the Lockerbie disaster.
About Syracuse University Libraries
Syracuse University Libraries provides expertise, information, and tools for students, faculty and staff, alumni, and the community. With over 4.8 million volumes of resources accessed by 1.2 million physical visits and 1.3 million online visits annually, the Libraries provides information services, responsive collections, knowledgeable staff, and safe and accessible physical and digital spaces that encourage intellectual exploration. In so doing, the Libraries enable the creation of new knowledge, catalyze scholarly collaboration and cultural exchange, and advance Syracuse University’s teaching, learning and research mission.
