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24 July 2015: New research grant asks Gibraltarians what life was like from 1930's to today
Dr Andrew Canessa has received a new research grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
His work Bordering on Britishness: An Oral History Study of Gibraltarian Identity in the 20th Century will be a collaboration with the Garrison Library in Gibraltar and will explore a people’s history of Gibraltar, asking Gibraltarians what life was like in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and right through to the present day.
What is the research about?
Bordering on Britishness looks at how an overwhelmingly Spanish speaking population in Gibraltar with many cultural and kinship ties across the border with Spain developed, in the space of a lifetime, into a largely English speaking community, with considerable antipathy to Spain and a sense of being 'more British than the British'.
This research project explores these changes through collecting life stories from a range of Gibraltarians from different sections of the community.
Why is this an important area to look at?
The 'intractable' problem of Gibraltar is a major thorn in Anglo Spanish relations and periodically produces a variety of diplomatic crises. A big role is played by Gibraltarians themselves but until now there has been very little research on Gibraltarians' attitudes to identity.
What does this research aim to achieve?
What little qualitative research there has been, has been conducted in English. This project leaves the interview language to the participant and many interviewees switch from Spanish to English.
Through taking life stories in different languages we hope to get a more nuanced sense of changing identities over time and better understand why Gibraltarians have such strong views about Spain.
What are the next steps for the research?
We are still collecting the data but the project is already creating a critical discussion in Gibraltar. As we publish our research we also want to give presentations and hold discussions with policy makers in Spain and the UK in order that political decision making be better informed.