Engaging with the Past is a heritage and public history reading group based in Portsmouth 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. 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
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 group emerges and follows on from a similar group started in York in 2010.
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
Meetings are currently held once a month (around the 3rd Wednesday, though check the mailing list for exact dates).
FIRST MEETING:
- Wednesday 22nd October, 7.30pm Venue TBC
- THEME: Maritime Heritage and Waterfront Regeneration (please join mailing list for readings)
#EngagingwtPast
Replica Spoon: Ryedale Folk Museum, Ryedale, Yorkshire
engagingwiththepast 