Recent publications of interest

Abstract

In May 1995, a landmark conference on the management of archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region was organized by the J. Paul Getty Trust. The following report on the conference is in two parts: Nicholas Stanley Price, a member of the conference organizing committee, describes its format and programme, and then Sharon Sullivan, an invited keynote speaker, provides some reflections on the conference from an Australian perspective.     

Review of the 6th PGCA conference

ABSTRACT

This is a review of the 6th Postgraduate Conflict Archaeology conference held in Glasgow in October of 2019. It summarizes the presentations and keynotes delivered at the two-day conference, and reflects on the benefit of postgraduate and ECR specific conferences, the gender disparity within the field of conflict archaeology, and the importance of a supportive network of colleagues.     

Bridging the Gulf between Secondary School and University-level Geography Teachers: Reflections on organising a UK teachers' conference

This study contributes to growing research on the links between school and university geography by reflecting on the value of a teachers' conference organised in 2000. Through analysis of feedback from the conference and reflection on how the event has influenced the author's teaching, the paper considers the potential for academic geographers to learn from colleagues in the school sector and vice versa. The paper also uses personal experience and the teachers' feedback to provide guidance for people considering holding similar events, particularly with regard to the likely expectations and priorities of secondary school teachers. The paper notes schoolteachers' desire for a closer relationship with university staff and argues that current pressures on all teachers limit possibilities for broader and more sustained dialogue.     

Taking Direction: New Dramaturgies of Science from the Splice Symposium and the Performing Science Conference

Abstract

This short article responds to two recent conferences on performance and science: the Splice Symposium (Chimera Network/University of Notre Dame) and Performing Science (University of Lincoln). Rather than a conventional conference report, the author reflects on a selection of presentations in the light of issue one of ISR’s ‘theatre and science’ series.     

Changemakers and change agents: encouraging students as researchers through Changemaker’s programmes

Abstract

This paper examines the role played by a student-organized research conference in the age of research-led teaching and active learning. Drawing on our experiences of organizing two departmental conferences in Geography in March 2016 and March 2017, we begin to outline how institutional support and funding for student-led “Changemakers” projects can not only introduce students to specific aspects of research (in the case of our conference, to disseminating and communicating research findings), but also encourage collaboration and mutual support outside of formal staff-student hierarchies of teaching, learning and marking.     

Painful pasts,painful places: Confronting ambivalence at the Islands of Vanishment conference,Port Arthur Historic Site,Tasmania, 7–10 June 2002

Abstract

This is a museum about Power and Powerlessness

And the struggle for dignity by ordinary people.

Let this never be forgotten.

Let us be mindful of the abuses of the past and celebrate the human capacity

In all its diversity and richness

To overcome.

(From the Kwa Muhle Museum, Durban, South Africa)

Islands of Vanishment was more than just a conference; it was a piece of theatre, acted out in a place which has seen more than its share of suffering over the last 200 years. Throughout the conference the legacy of Port Arthur's painful past, and the sense of hope and emergence that has grown from it, was tangible, the sense of place which envelops the Port Arthur Historic Site contributing much to the success of this important event.     

Perspectives and sensitivities: teaching as the creation of conditions of possibility for geographic thinking

Abstract

Teaching methodological courses means providing students with general ideas to think with, rather than specific facts to think about. Rethinking the teaching task must be informed by an awareness of ideological, philosophical, technical and analytical perspectives, and should look for basic themes uniting apparently different approaches. Almost all quantitative methodologies are actually specific examples of the mathematical operation of mapping. Genuine understanding is achieved by visualisation of a problem, rather than algebraic manipulation, and the teaching task could be aided greatly by employing the power of interactive computer graphics. It is suggested that the analytical and pedagogic approaches used by experienced teachers might be shared initially in an international conference, and so form the basis for more effective and efficient teaching in the future.     

Sticks and Stones: Byzantine Material Culture

Abstract

Suddenly last summer, research on Byzantine Material Culture, La belle aux bois dormant, was awakened from a prolonged siesta. In the 20th International Congress of Byzantine Studies held in Paris two papers were given in an attempt to chart out the progress made in this particular field in the past decades. T. Kolias assembled the various projects undertaken by individuals or institutions dealing with the different aspects of Byzantine daily life and material culture. M. Mundell Mango focused more on the archaeological evidence at hand and illustrated through the examples of architecture and industrial products how these could be used to detect and explain the interaction between centre and periphery. Just two weeks later, in September 2001 a conference entitled ‘Material Culture and Well-Being in Byzantium (400–1453)’ was organised in Cambridge. A number of suggestions were made during the conference, as for example to initiate a website to host a continuously updateable bibliography and to act as a forum of scholarly exchange in the numerous fields covered by research on material culture. Finally in April 2002 the Spring Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks was devoted to ‘Realities in the Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean’ in an attempt to reposition topics as exchange, influence and impact of the material culture between the Byzantine, the Western and the Islamic world. All the above has made clear the potential that the analysis of material culture has for Byzantine studies.     

Recognizing synesthesia on the international stage: The first scientific symposium on synesthesia (at The International Conference of Physiological Psychology,Paris, 1889)

ABSTRACT

At the first ever worldwide international conference of psychology in Paris, 1889, one symposium included a round-table event devoted entirely to the neurodevelopmental condition of synesthesia. Details of this seminal gathering on synesthesia and its international reception have been lost to historical obscurity. A synesthesia study committee emerged from this meeting, as well as a new research tool. Moreover, the scientific findings discussed during this symposium would be echoed over a hundred years later, when a new wave of synesthesia research in the late-twentieth century arose. This article sheds new light on this seminal gathering and aims to answer the following historical questions: Why was synesthesia included in this conference? What science was discussed? Who were the members of the committee and how did they come to be involved? What were their contributions to synesthesia research before, during, and after the conference? What has history shown us about the impact of this symposium on the science of synesthesia?     

Renzo De Felice,the resistance and the historian' task

Abstract

The Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture sponsored a two‐day conference in April 1998: ‘Behind enemy lines in World War II, the Resistance and the OSS in Italy’. On this occasion William Corvo of Middletown, Connecticut, donated the wartime papers of his father, Max Corvo. Max Corvo played a principal role in Organization of Strategic Services operations in Sicily and Italy during the war, linking the OSS and the Italian Resistance. Veterans of both the OSS and the Italian Resistance attended the symposium. We present here some of the papers that focused on the principal theme of the meeting: ‘The Resistance, war of liberation or civil war?’. Authors are: Borden Painter, Department of History at Trinity College; Vittorio Gozzer, partisan veteran and liaison for the conference with Italian partisan organizations; James Miller, historian at the State Department; Roy Domenico, Department of History at the University of Scranton; David Ward, Department of Italian at Wellesley College; Steven White, Department of History at Mount St Mary's College (Maryland); Spencer Di Scala, Department of History at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Borden Painter and John Alcorn organized the conference for the Barbieri Endowment.     

The politics of the ‘Church’ in the Italy of Pope Wojtyła

Abstract

This article analyzes the development of different political tendencies with the Italian Church during the pontificate of John Paul II. Two different strategies enabled the episcopal conference to maintain stability for a long period, in which time Cardinal Ruini played a key role, first as secretary and then president of the bishops. In his years the conference of bishops accepted that the political unity of the Catholic world was over, but it still tried to retain a strong political influence even though the mediation of the Christian Democratic Party was no longer available. With the end of Wojty?a's pontificate, however, this period came to a close and the different tendencies that make up the rich and complex world of the Italian Catholic Church have become more visible.     

Communicating Science through the Performing Arts

Abstract

The author reviews over a decade of science and the arts programming he and his colleagues have produced and disseminated. The programs have been supported by the National Science Foundation, the American Physical Society, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and various foundations and corporations. The author gives detailed examples of using science and the arts to reach the public and students with respect to programming related to the play Copenhagen, the opera Doctor Atomic, the Science & the Arts Series, a major international conference on Communicating Science to the Public, and many other outreach efforts.     

Conference on Cultural Resource Management in Jordan

Abstract

A Cultural Resource Management Conference was held in Amman (Jordan) in September 1992, on the subject of the current CRM program in Jordan and the establishment of a computerized catalogue of archaeological and historic sites. The round tables following the conference concentrated mainly on the problems of coordination among different governmental and nongovernmental agencies responsible for development and heritage preservation, and the problem of education and public awareness in archaeology. The conference ended with a common statement calling for the creation of a Permanent National Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, which will formulate and manage a Master Plan for the protection of cultural heritage in Jordan.     

Notes and News

Abstract

The history of industrial activity in an area not normally thought of as an engineering stronghold shows how some highly significant engineering developed; up to the 1950s more people were employed in engineering in the Bristol area than in any other single trade. Bath, as a centre of tourism and of 'polite' society, is archetypal of British attitudes to industry yet the development here of Stothert &; Pitt crane and pump making and the forgotten lessons of the Day two-stroke engine of 1891 show the vital importance of manufacturing industry to the creation of wealth in Bath as elsewhere. Yet we continue scandalously to ignore the proper study of our industrial past in favour of more attractive but much less significant aspects of our history, and thus fail to learn the many lessons that history could reveal. This paper is a revised version of an invited lecture given to the Association for Industrial Archaeology, at its ninth annual conference at Bath in September 1987.     

The south pacific ‘experiment’: Reflections on the origins of regional identity

Abstract

When colonial administrators decided to encourage a sense of unity among the members of the emergent élite of their Pacific Island territories in the late 1940s, they regarded their project as novel. Rather than a sense of tapping a pre‐existing affinity, it seemed that what was being attempted was social engineering on a grand scale. The first South Pacific Conference of Pacific Island representatives held at Nasinu, Fiji, in April‐May 1950, was seen by European officials and observers as an ‘experiment’.

The attempt to forge a sense of regional unity was seen as pushing against the perceived gulf between Melanesian and Polynesian cultures and as expecting too much in the way of conference skills from ‘undeveloped’ societies. But the ‘experiment’ was considered necessary for other important post‐war goals. Although the Nasinu conference is to be seen broadly as an experiment in the promotion of trusteeship, or ‘native welfare’, principles, there was by no means agreement on its ultimate purposes. For some it offered the best (if risky) chance of minimising United Nations interference in the continuation of colonial control, for others a way of ensuring the demise of empire by serving the needs of self‐determination. Finally, the promotion of a sense of region among Pacific Islanders was seen by some as part of an experiment in keeping the region from Communist influence.     

Love: A Common Word between Evangelicals and Muslims?

Abstract

This paper analyses the responses of Evangelical Christians to "A Common Word between Us and You." While many Evangelical leaders warmly welcomed the initiative and have subsequently been involved in various dialogues and conferences, others were more sceptical and refused to take part. This latter reaction refects a general lack of trust in some parts of the Evangelical movement engendered by concerns over Muslim approaches to law, freedom of religion and conscience, the treatment of apostates under shari'a and restrictions on Christian mission in Muslim countries. The debate between these two groups has been sharp and at times acrimonious, refecting deeper tensions within the Evangelical community. Drawing on recent books, articles, blogs and the author's own observations at an international dialogue conference, this paper highlights the tensions and examines some of the underlying causes.     

The April 1977 Persepolis Conference on the Transfer of Nuclear Technology: A Third World Revolt Against US Non-Proliferation Policy?

ABSTRACT

Iran under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi embarked on one of the most ambitious nuclear programmes of any state in the 1970s. This decision was in part motivated by the zeitgeist surrounding nuclear energy in the 1970s that envisioned the transition from a petroleum- to plutonium-based economy. This decision, however, was soon followed by the Indian ‘Smiling Buddha’ peaceful nuclear explosion. This led the United States and other nuclear suppliers to strengthen restraints on nuclear exports. Many nuclear recipients, particularly in the Third World, objected to US-led changes to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, including the creation of the London Club (later renamed the Nuclear Suppliers Group). To address perceived shortcomings of nuclear suppliers in cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, the Iranian nuclear leadership organized the Iran Conference on the Transfer of Nuclear Technology in April 1977. The Persepolis conference, as it came to be known, saw many nuclear suppliers, recipients and industry rally in opposition to US non-proliferation policy under President Jimmy Carter. However, following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran ceased to function as the lynchpin of this opposition to US policy, with the result that the coalition created at the Persepolis conference dissipated.     

National Identity and Everyday Cultures in Contemporary France: Re-Constructing Frenchness through ‘Third Kind’ Representations of the Cités (1960–2000)*

This article examines the role played in France by the culture du quotidien (everyday culture) in establishing a more integrated image of the nation and identity. It suggests that since the 1960s, dominant media discourse in France, and artistic representations of the urban periphery, have often perpetuated an image of the cités as menacing spaces detached from the national community and emblematic of France's postmodern crisis. Focusing on everyday cultural creations about the Grand Ensemble in La Courneuve, it argues that the ‘ordinariness’ of the lives these creations convey, along with the residents’ cultural practices and their continuing sense of belonging, effectively treats geography, culture and history in a way that questions the standard externalising discourse about the cités. Despite their limits in terms of circulation, these cultural artefacts of a ‘third kind’ offer images that contribute to challenging the ‘banlieues myth’ and help re-construct a French identity perceived under threat. 1 ?[1] I express my gratitude to Dr Karima Laachir, Professor Kate Ince and Dr Jackie Clarke for their support, comments and advice, while preparing this article. I am also indebted to the challenging and inspiring contributions made by the participants of the ASMCF conference held in Manchester in September 2008. Finally, my thanks go to the inhabitants of La Courneuve who, like Dr Roger Amar, kindly accepted to discuss their views on French contemporary society.      

THE ROLT MEMORIAL LECTURE 2013: THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE — TAKING A POSITIVE VIEW

Abstract

This paper contains a summary of the 2013 Rolt Memorial Lecture, delivered to the annual conference of the Association for Industrial Archaeology in Dundee on 11 August 2013. The lecture commenced by observing the extent to which Industrial Heritage has progressed in recent decades, noting that it is now embedded in many national institutions in the UK, and has been ‘mainstreamed’ into heritage more generally. However, it now faces several serious challenges, not least the diminishing number and increasing age of activists, together with cuts to the State sector. It is argued, nevertheless, that industrial heritage has more to offer now than ever before and that more effective political engagement is required to ensure that this is understood by those with power and influence over the historic environment. To illustrate this point, current work on the Industrial Heritage Strategy for Scotland is discussed, together with the potential impact of the UK’s latest industrial World Heritage nomination, the Forth Bridge.