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Tag Archives: Yorkshire TV

Common Sense About UFOs – The Unopened File

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Dr David Clarke

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is often accused of hiding ‘top secret’ files on UFOs or not being entirely honest about what it knows about the subject. Conspiracy-minded UFO truthers got excited last year when the ministry announced it had found … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brinsley le poer Trench, Chinese lanterns, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Colonel Patrick Stevens OBE, Common Sense About UFOs, D-Day, drones, fireballs, Fred Mulley, Freedom of Information, Greenwich Planetarium, House of Lords, Jodrell Bank, Lord Clancarty, meteorological balloons, Ministry of Defence, New World Order, Paddy Stevens, RAF Woodbridge, Rendlesham forest UFOs, Richard Whiteley, Royal Marines 41 Commando, Sir Eric Gairy, The National Archives, UFO cover-up, UFO desk, UFO myth, UFOs, United Nations UFO debate, Yorkshire TV | Leave a comment
  • Welcome to my website

    Unknown's avatarDavid Clarke is Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts and Communication at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He teaches media law and his research specialism is contemporary legend. Previously he worked as a journalist for The Sheffield Star and Yorkshire Post and spent four years working as a Press Officer in local government. His PhD in Folklore and was completed at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield, in 1999. From 2008-13 he acted as consultant and curator of the MoD UFO files project with The National Archives. His books include The Angel of Mons (2004) and How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a modern myth (2015). In 2018 he co-founded the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam University. This blog covers his twin research interests in journalism and folklore. The views expressed in the contents are entirely his own.

  • What is Folklore?

    Once upon a time… ‘Folklore’ meant ancient ballads or fairy tales or the peculiar superstitions and customs of ‘primitive’ peoples. Today folklore is a tool for studying custom and belief, urban legends, modern myth and even rumours spread via the internet. Much folklore can be found online and buried in the narrative content of media and social networking - from legends and reports of ghosts, UFOs and 'big cats' to language, customs and traditions. The study of folklore is centrally and crucially important 'in our attempts to understand our own behaviour and that of our fellow human beings' according to one scholarly definition. Folklore is a vital and ongoing area of study and one of the few academic disciplines that engage, in a fundamental way, with everyday life.
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