| AdminHistory | Charles Parker worked as a visiting lecturer at the Polytechnic of Central London (PCL) in the School of Media Studies and Communication between 1973-1980. Anthony Schooling, friend and colleague of Charles Parker at PCL intended to publish Parker's lectures, but Schooling died before this was accomplished. Draft typescripts of Schooling's book edited from Parker's lectures 'Only Listen: Radio as an Art and the Oral Tradition' can be seen at Birmingham City Archives (MS 1905).
Charles Parker's lecturing work is of enormous significance and national importance. Charles Parker used 'actuality' recordings (voices and songs of ordinary people) to illustrate his belief that vernacular speech is the key to communication and that people, and particularly those in education, needed to learn from this in order to communicate effectively in the future. Another central theme of his lecturing was his belief that capitalist industrial society was in danger of losing touch with its historical and social traditions which are essential for establishing and maintaining a social identity.
This series of recordings mainly comprise both the text of the lectures and actuality used rather than just the actuality as in many of the other recordings of lectures. Where transcriptions of the tapes are available this has been included in the catalogue description. |