Anthony Manning

Anthony Manning is Dean for Internationalisation at the University of Kent, and in this latest interview Anthony talks about his experience of growing up in a large family but a small town on the Isle of Man where his relatives ran a joke shop. We discuss the sense of community, based on old fashioned values, which the shop elicited, and how its recent closure has resulted in a flood of nostalgia which he is considering channeling in new ways.

Anthony talks about the culture shock of leaving the island in order to go to university in England, prompting a reflection on the nature of home and belonging, and we learn whether Anthony feels an attachment to any particular place. The concept of 'neo-native Manx speakers' is introduced and Anthony discusses the benefits, based on personal experience, of understanding other people's languages and cultures.

Anthony grew up on an island with 80,000 people that had just one cinema and we find out why he was into The Cure and The Smiths when he was at university and we hear about some of the challenges involved in 'fitting in'. We discuss the grunge dimension of university in the early 90s and what led Anthony to march, during his undergraduate studies.

Finally, Anthony discusses why he doesn't look back on the past with regrets but has an urge to capture everything photographically, and we consider how and why photos are able to bring back more memories than we would otherwise be able to retain.

Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Anthony Manning and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.