Journal Spirituality and Social Change at Greenham Common Peace Camp
Christina Welch
This paper explores the spirituality of, and experienced at, Greenham Common Peace Camp,Berkshire, Southern England (1981-2000); a camp established in protest against the sighting of nuclear weapons at Greenham air base. Although spirituality is alluded to in much of the discourse on the nuclear protest site at Greenham, it is at best marginalized in favour of socio-politics. However, there is evidence to suggest that spirituality played a significant role for a number of the Greenham protestors, informing their socio-political protests through poetry, song and prose, as well as visually - with eco-feminist thealogy a potent theme. Through examining existing discourse and by interviewing protestors, this paper concludes that spiritual action for social change at Greenham Peace Camp requires further attention in order to elucidate its significance.
Introduction
In this paper I begin to explore the spirituality of, and at, Greenham Common Peace camp (1981-2000); begin because the research is by necessity partial, and partial because there is only a very little written about this particular aspect of the camp. Although much has been produced about the peace camp at Greenham Common in books, journal articles and the media, the focus has predominantly been upon socio-political issues – perhaps unsurprisingly given the political and military climate in which the protest occurred; the 1980s marked the height of the second cold war (1979-1985), and was a period defined by an increase in militaristic activity by the US and the Soviet Union after the latter's invasion of Afghanistan. Although a fair amount of material has been produced about the peace camp at Greenham Common and the protestors there (Blackwood 1984, Emberley & Landry 1989, Fairhall 2006, Finch 1986, Harford & Hopkins 1984, Jones 1983, Kidron 1983, Kippin 2001, Laware 2004, Liddington 1989, Pettitt 2006a, Roseneil 1995, 2000, Schofield & Anderton 2000, Sellers 1985), a notable gap in the discourse concerns spirituality and faith-based action for social change. In existing work tantalising glimpses of spirituality at the camp appear from the alleged personas of the protesting sites (the New Age Gate, the Religious Gate) through songs that sang of the spirit and mother earth, poetry and prose about witches and the Goddess (Jones 1983: 83, Pettitt 2006b, Jones K 2007),to odd tangential comments about ‘growing spiritualization of the camp’ as the years went by (Jolly Ud). Further, the standing stones memorial to the camp, which echoes Neolithic monuments such asDOWNLOAD HERE
This paper explores the spirituality of, and experienced at, Greenham Common Peace Camp,Berkshire, Southern England (1981-2000); a camp established in protest against the sighting of nuclear weapons at Greenham air base. Although spirituality is alluded to in much of the discourse on the nuclear protest site at Greenham, it is at best marginalized in favour of socio-politics. However, there is evidence to suggest that spirituality played a significant role for a number of the Greenham protestors, informing their socio-political protests through poetry, song and prose, as well as visually - with eco-feminist thealogy a potent theme. Through examining existing discourse and by interviewing protestors, this paper concludes that spiritual action for social change at Greenham Peace Camp requires further attention in order to elucidate its significance.
Introduction
In this paper I begin to explore the spirituality of, and at, Greenham Common Peace camp (1981-2000); begin because the research is by necessity partial, and partial because there is only a very little written about this particular aspect of the camp. Although much has been produced about the peace camp at Greenham Common in books, journal articles and the media, the focus has predominantly been upon socio-political issues – perhaps unsurprisingly given the political and military climate in which the protest occurred; the 1980s marked the height of the second cold war (1979-1985), and was a period defined by an increase in militaristic activity by the US and the Soviet Union after the latter's invasion of Afghanistan. Although a fair amount of material has been produced about the peace camp at Greenham Common and the protestors there (Blackwood 1984, Emberley & Landry 1989, Fairhall 2006, Finch 1986, Harford & Hopkins 1984, Jones 1983, Kidron 1983, Kippin 2001, Laware 2004, Liddington 1989, Pettitt 2006a, Roseneil 1995, 2000, Schofield & Anderton 2000, Sellers 1985), a notable gap in the discourse concerns spirituality and faith-based action for social change. In existing work tantalising glimpses of spirituality at the camp appear from the alleged personas of the protesting sites (the New Age Gate, the Religious Gate) through songs that sang of the spirit and mother earth, poetry and prose about witches and the Goddess (Jones 1983: 83, Pettitt 2006b, Jones K 2007),to odd tangential comments about ‘growing spiritualization of the camp’ as the years went by (Jolly Ud). Further, the standing stones memorial to the camp, which echoes Neolithic monuments such asDOWNLOAD HERE
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