Engaging with the Past Reading Group

By Jessica Moody on October 9, 2014 in event, notfeature

Engaging with the Past is a heritage and public history reading group which aims to discuss, debate and share ideas concerning ‘heritage’ through contemporary cultural production and the representation of the past – through management, public engagement, and various methods of dissemination.

It is hoped that this reading group can provide an opportunity for friendly debate and for ideas to be shared. The group is open to all: students, academics and professionals, and anyone with an interest in the many complex and fascinating issues surrounding how and why we use, represent and engage with the past in the present.

This remit covers any aspect of cultural heritage in theory and production, and the study and practice of public history across disciplines, between academia, public and professional bodies and organisations, and beyond. This includes, but is by no means limited to, issues and themes surrounding:

history, archaeology, identity, place and people
dissonant heritage and traumatic pasts
intangible heritage, creativity, music, art, literature
living history, performance and re-enactment
archives, museums and galleries
urban and rural tours, guides and walks
conservation, reconstruction and regeneration
local heritage and history projects
public art, memorialisation and commemoration
cultural tourism, travel and ‘historic cities’
theorising history and memory
the ‘use’ of the past in the present
storytelling and oral history
education, schools and informal learning
new ways of theorising heritage
new technologies and possibilities

If you would like any further information or would like to be added to the mailing list, please email Jessica Moody jessica.moody@port.ac.uk and further information can be found here

Meetings are currently held once a month (around the 3^rd Wednesday, though check the mailing list for exact dates).

FIRST MEETING: