Crossing the rubicon: fact or fiction in Roman re-enactment

Abstract

This paper discusses the role and use of Roman re-enactment as a means of engaging with, visualizing and interpreting Roman material culture, and how this is translated into presentation material for public display. The paper raises several issues on the use of re-enactors to interpret a specific period from the past, and reflects on why people actively participate in re-enactment, with an emphasis on accuracy and authenticity.     

Mortimer Wheeler's Theatre of the Past

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of Mortimer Wheeler's work as a public archaeologist, and in particular his efforts to display the archaeological process to interested members of the public. By focusing on the excavations at Maiden Castle, Dorset, from 1934 to 1937 we compare Wheeler's stated philosophy of public archaeology with his practice in the field. At Maiden Castle the theatre of excavation was the centrepiece of a carefully marketed archaeological experience including tours, souvenirs, and a well-developed media strategy. By applying the commodity model of public archaeology as an analytical framework we highlight the sophistication and success of Wheeler's 'theatre of the past'. This analysis lays a foundation for further critical historical studies of both the public understanding of the past, and of Wheeler's life and works.     

On the edge: A tale of skaters and urban governance

The 'problem' of skating has been conflated with a 'problem' with young people in public spaces, reflecting a rise in fear of crime from the mid-twentieth century and referencing more general questions about public space and citizenship. My task in this paper is to highlight some of the tensions between skating and urban governance in Franklin Square, Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania in Australia. This task is indebted to ideas about governance and citizenship advanced by Nikolas Rose; about the proper city as conceived by Michel de Certeau; and about fortress strategies and species of spaces promulgated by Stephen Flusty. Franklin Square functions in two ways in this work. First, its examination encourages consideration of local cases. Second, it can be deployed as a heuristic device through which to explore the edges of public space and citizenship. The essay is intended to make two contributions to social and cultural geography, one enlarging on some well-rehearsed debates about situated and contested socio-spatial relations in what I hope are innovative ways, the other unsettling particular strategies that place skaters 'on the edge' and yet draw them into particular domains of citizenship via specific practices of urban governance.     

Early Railways 6: Papers from the Sixth Annual Early Railways Conference

Abstract

Mass production of decorative tiles enabled nineteenth and twentieth century builders and architects to 'beautify' the 'halls of the noble and the churches of the peasant'. Tiles were also used for public houses, fire stations, inebriates' homes and turkish baths, etc. Maw of Jackfield in the Ironbridge Gorge and Craven Dunnill and Company of the same place, were two of the most important manufacturers of decorative tiles, and their products, a triumph of Victorian mass production, can still be seen in many places.     

A Strategy for Industrial Archaeology in the Black Country

Abstract

Remains from Britain's industrial past are being lost daily. Much has gone already, often with its importance unrecognised. This applies no more so than in the Black Country where a joint local authority/university initiative set about addressing the problem by identifying, through Local Area Surveys, significant remains from the industrial period. Arising from this, Dudley MBC's 'Strategy for Industrial Archaeology' now allows important sites to be flagged throughout the planning and development process and, with public involvement and the imaginative use of existing controls, a degree of protection is afforded. It is hoped that the approach described below will form the basis of discussion and encourage similar initiatives elsewhere.     

Albert Wendt and the Problem of History

Poet and fiction writer Albert Wendt has taken on the task of correcting colonialist representations of the Pacific from an insider perspective. This involves him in questions of historical record and modes of recording history. The role of memory becomes central to the artist transposing oral traditions into written forms. Trained as an historian, Wendt progressively blurs the boundaries between imaginative and factual, personal and public re/constructions, aware of the illusions of both nationalistic nostalgia for lost perfection and colonialist 'objective' encyclopaedism. History both liberates and traps; in the poem 'Inside Us the Dead' and novels Pouliuli and Black Rainbow , Wendt looks for a postcolonial dynamic between postmodern deconstruction and representational texts that can be seen in terms of de Certeau's ideas of tactics and strategies.     

Lasthénie de Ferjol’s Syndrome: A Tribute Paid by Jean Bernard to Jules Amédée Barbey D’Aurevilly

Abstract

The idea that memories could be transferred from one organism to another by administration of a “trained”; donor brain to a naive recipient seized both scientific and public attention in the 1960's and early 1970's. Georges Ungar was one of the earliest and strongest proponents of this idea, and he provided it extensive theoretical and experimental support. This paper reviews Ungar's work on memory transfer (and in particular on the scotophobin molecule), with an analysis of its successes and failures.     

Feature Reviews

Abstract

Thomas Jefferson, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, first published and distributed to the American public in 1787, presented his mature thoughts on politics, amid a vast array of themes reflective of his own encyclopedic studies. The diverse contents and unusual form of the work have often led modern readers to neglect its overarching political purpose. We argue that when read as a unified whole shaped by an explicit literary structure and rational method, Jefferson's Notes lays the foundation for a new science of republican politics. By engaging and revising key aspects of both the Bible and Enlightenment science, whenever either asserts authoritative claims beyond rational scrutiny that obscure or distort nature, Jefferson overturns false idols that impede our inquiry into natural laws and natural right, and the proper grounds of republican government.     

Evaluating Community Archaeology in the UK

Abstract

Does community archaeology work? In the UK over the last decade, there has been a boom in projects utilising the popular phrase 'community archaeology'. These projects can take many different forms and have ranged from the public face of research and developer-funded programmes to projects run by museums, archaeological units, universities, and archaeological societies. Community archaeology also encapsulates those projects run by communities themselves or in dialogue between 'professional' and 'amateur' groups and individuals. Many of these projects are driven by a desire for archaeology to meet a range of perceived educational and social values in bringing about knowledge and awareness of the past in the present. These are often claimed as successful outputs of community projects. This paper argues that appropriate criteria and methodologies for evaluating the efficacy of these projects have yet to be designed. What is community archaeology for? Who is it for? And is it effectively meeting its targets? Focusing on the authors' experiences of directing community archaeology projects, together with the ongoing research assessing the efficacy of community archaeology projects in the UK, this paper aims to set out two possible methodologies: one of self-reflexivity, and one of ethnoarchaeological analysis for evaluating what community archaeology actually does for communities themselves.     

Administration of parks with rack art: A symposium and workshop in Jujuy Argentina,December 2003

Abstract

Visits to archaeological sites, within school, a history or archaeology club, or a family group, are the main means for young people to engage with the archaeological historic environment. The majority of archaeological sites easily accessible for such groups are those that have been 'sanitized' for public consumption. These are often devoid of explanation of the archaeological process which made them accessible. This paper looks at the contribution that working archaeological sites can make to young people's understanding of archaeology, with particular reference to visits made by branches of the Young Archaeologists' Club, based in the UK.     

Memorializing Race in the Deep South: The 'Good Darkie' Statue,Louisiana, USA

Abstract

The period between World War I and World War II saw the development of several memorials commemorating African Americans in the Southern USA. The 'Good Darkie' is unique amongst these in being a life-size bronze statue. It was erected in Natchitoches, northwestern Louisiana in 1927, where it remained in a prominent position in the centre of the town until it was taken down in 1969, ending up in the Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum where it is displayed as the statue of 'Uncle Jack'. The various meanings and values given to the statue over the last 80 years, from acceptable paternalism to its politicization in the 1960s, to the criticism currently levelled at its use make this an important case study in public commemoration. This paper explores the various meanings given to the statue by different social groups, which reveal how the concept of race, and solutions to the 'race problem' of the Southern USA have evolved over time.     

Scientists and the media: the struggle for legitimacy in climate change and conservation science

Abstract

Despite the uncertainties associated with forecasts of the possible negative effects of climate change on natural environments, such research is often widely reported in the news media. Here we review the presentation in the UK news media and on the internet of an academic study published in Nature, forecasting future global extinctions as a result of climate change. The results and conclusions of the study were widely misrepresented, especially in the news media, to make the consequences seem more catastrophic and the timescale shorter. Representations of the original article on the internet were more variable, with several sites ranked highly on popular search engines being overtly critical of the underlying science. We suggest that such polarised representations of environmental science are indicative of a 'struggle for legitimacy' between environmentalist and anti-environmentalist groups, with potential negative consequences for public trust in science.     

An International Association for the Advancement of Science. II.

Abstract

The modern research funding system is generally oppressive to creativity and innovation. More specifically, expert peer review favours trendy projects with predictable outcomes and usually rejects novel higher risk proposals; the system supports mostly 'me too' projects ('do as others do') and encourages mediocrity and triviality rather than true innovation, the latter being paid only lip service; it encourages proliferation of powerful control cliques operating as old boys clubs ('I'll fund you, if you fund me'); it fosters quasi feudal research empires, with 'soft money' researchers (mostly postdocs) doing all the real work while tenured professors are engaged largely on the conference circuit and in grantsmanship; research supervisors often lose touch with the experimental bench, and yet remain in full control of their laboratories' budget and operation; and such an imperial model of operation discourages the creativity of junior researchers and their ideas are often misappropriated by supervisors. These factors generally render the modern research funding system financially wasteful and resentful of public accountability. Radical changes are required to improve the system's efficiency, to liberate creativity, and to encourage innovation from below. Peer review, though not entirely useless, needs far greater public openness and feedback from a broader research community. Junior research personnel should be part of a professionally managed structure, and not be left at the whim of professors who almost never have the training or skills necessary for competent human resource management. Small base grants should be provided automatically to active researchers, with no need for proposals.     

The Iberian fireball of 4 January 2004

Abstract

According to the American Meteor Society, 'fireball' is a term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -3 or -4, which is about the same magnitude as the planet Venus viewed in the morning or evening sky. If the fireball explodes in a bright terminal flash, which typically extinguishes with visible fragmentation, it is then known as a 'bolide', from the Greek word for a throwing spear. This paper describes the circumstances of the recent dramatic fireball sighting over the Iberian peninsula. This event provides a textbook example of such an event, with the usual attendant public excitement, media confusion and cultural misconceptions.     

The credibility of scientific expertise in a culture of suspicion

Abstract

Scientists and other technical experts in the UK increasingly complain that their credibility is being eroded and that the public is ever more reluctant to believe what they say. This is sometimes seen as a part of a larger 'problem of trust', afflicting all our major institutions: science attracts suspicion because it is no longer perceived as independent and is regarded instead as tied to the interests of those institutions. But it is suggested here that the credibility of scientific expertise actually remains remarkably high, that the so called 'problem of trust' is not a problem at all, and that the rise of a culture of suspicion, which does admittedly cause experts some slight inconvenience at times, is nonetheless something they should welcome and encourage.     

The place of drink: Temperance and the public, 1856–1914

Discussions of the place of drink in Britain between 1856 and 1914 were centrally concerned with alcohol as a public problem. Temperance organizations like the United Kingdom Alliance largely abandoned their attempts to reform individuals and instead demanded the prohibition of drink sales. This new concern for the public sphere of politics and public opinion was matched by a new sensitivity to the social contexts of drinking, the role of the drink trade and rituals of conviviality. Temperance documents thus allow us to glimpse two new senses of the public: a wider public sphere, in which the Alliance sought to organize public opinion through lectures, the press and the preparation of moral statistics; and a space of social interaction governed by rational behaviour and ideals of citizenship. It is also possible to construct a contrasting, 'customary', sense of public space based upon drink as a form of gift exchange which symbolized strong bonds of reciprocity. In striving to replace these ties with more abstract and political senses of citizenship and democratic rights, temperance workers played a part in the remaking of understandings of public space as a mirror image of the public sphere.     

THE POLITICS OF DISINTEREST: THE WHIGS AND THE LIBERAL PARTY IN THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE, 1830–1850

Abstract

Having entered the 1960s in a mood of confident expansion epitomized by the Robbins Report of 1963, British universities found their budgets ravaged by inflation in the early 1970s and struggled for financial equilibrium over the next three decades. While the 'unit of resource' halved between 1976 and the end of the century, the very nature of a university came into question as renewed growth succeeded cuts in the 1980s, and institutions were required to balance their books by supplementing the traditional functions of teaching and research with a contribution to 'knowledge transfer', local regeneration, and the search for social inclusiveness. In this increasingly competitive system, the 'big civics' faced the spectre of relative decline in the 1990s, as the State continued to support the elite 'golden triangle' and diverted further funds to support struggling 'new' universities, while smaller 'plate glass' institutions were swifter to respond to a new culture of public league tables. This article examines the University of Leeds's changing responses to these challenges, comparing the 'political' leadership of Vice-Chancellors Lord Boyle and Sir Edward Parkes with the managerial approach of Professor Sir Alan Wilson.     

Industrial Archaeology: Its Place Within the Academic Discipline,the Public Realm and the Heritage Industry

Abstract

This paper presents a review of industrial archaeology literature and offers some initial thoughts on how this literature relates to my research on public perception and experience of Cornish mining landscapes. A brief summary of the development of industrial archaeology is given, which reflects on its amateur origins, its 'identity crisis' and its slow integration into university archaeology departments. The reasons for the transformation of industrial sites into industrial heritage is then examined and temporal models of change presented which relate to both an acceleration of the past into the commodity heritage as well as an affective progression from disdain to acceptance. The public's attitude to industrial archaeology is then discussed — which raises complex questions over the nature of such sites including, the importance of time and aesthetics as well as the phenomenological nature of perception and experience.     

Using PP GIS interviews to understand residents’ perspective of European ecological network Natura 2000

ABSTRACT

Sustainable nature-based tourism was brought to the public's attention as a solution to the problem of economic diversification in Central and Eastern European (CEE) communities included in European Ecological Network – N2000. However, Natura 2000 tourism development has not yet proven to be an effective way to boost local economies and the notion of sustainable tourism based on Natura 2000 resources has been challenged by residents of the CEE communities. The study goal was to explore issues concerning Natura 2000 tourism from the perspective of local residents within three municipalities of Ma?opolska in Poland to determine if Natura 2000 is perceived by local residents as a valuable tourism asset. We employed a mix-mode methodology: an in-depth interview and public participation GIS mapping task. The study results highlight several areas of concern regarding resident perspectives of Natura 2000-based tourism: first, the misconception that residents need and want nature-based tourism when other economic activities provide sufficient income; second, the misconception that Natura 2000 is considered a valuable asset when other tourism attractions in a municipality attract more visitors; third, the residents misconception of nature-based tourism itself; and last but not least the importance of engaging with residents when assessing the potential for Natura 2000 tourism. These findings can assist policy-makers and tourism managers with prioritizing avenues for further action.     

Bristol and the eruption of memory: Making the slave-trading past visible

This article describes the work undertaken by the public authorities of Bristol to construct, for this old slaving port, a collective memory of the trade in Africans. It shows how the use of urban space is necessary to resurrect that past and implies a visual model to inform a new gaze on the city. Through intensive action on the memory of slavery, the author suggests, from the work of Paul Ricoeur, the passage from silence to 'too much memory'. This excess can be viewed as the result of a political instrumentalization linked to the requirements of the British multicutural model. Further, these actions on memory reveal distinctly divergent intentions for the different communities of the city.