FREE OF CHARGE
The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the clashes that followed brought long-standing debates about the representation and memorialization of Britain’s imperial past into sharper focus by catapulting them on to the front pages. In the current climate, the way in which historical figures and heritage sites are discussed, memorialized, and represented have become charged and often polarizing. While broad research projects have focused on examining Britain’s legacies of transatlantic slavery and imperial history, work has also been carried out at more local levels to address neglected histories and legacies, and consider how they influence contemporary social relations and discussions around heritage. This event emerges from one such project that has seen historians at the University of Gloucestershire work alongside Gloucester City Council and other heritage organizations to examine Gloucester’s links with the transatlantic slavery (see here).
The conference aims to bring together the work of scholars, heritage organisations, local authorities, and educators engaged in research and public engagement activities related to the national as well as more localized effects of these contested histories and how they relate to debates over public heritage. It will provide a forum to share research, public history work, community initiatives, and local case studies. Keynote speakers for this event: Dr Katie Donington (Open University), author of The bonds of family: Slavery, commerce and culture in the British Atlantic world (2021) and Britain’s history and memory of transatlantic slavery:
The local nuances of a ‘national sin’ (2016) Prof. Alan Lester (University of Sussex), author of Deny and Disavow: Distancing the Imperial Past in the Culture Wars (2022) and Ruling the World: Freedom, Civilisation and Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century British Empire (2020).
Conference attendance is free, with lunch and refreshments being provided. The conference will take place at the Business School, Oxstalls Campus, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, GL2 9HW.
For further information, please contact Dr Christian O'Connell [email protected]
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