*apologies for cross-posting*

Second call for papers: DEADLINE 14th SEPTEMBER

International Conference: 3rd -5th April 2008

PERFORMING HERITAGE: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

The Performance, Learning and Heritage project invites participation in its
forthcoming international conference, April 2008. The conference will take
place at the University of Manchester, and will provide a forum for 
discussing how research and practice in the field of museum 
performance/live interpretation can inform one another.

The Performance, Learning and Heritage project is an AHRC funded 
investigation into the uses and impact of performance as a medium for 
learning in museums and at heritage sites. The scope of the project is 
international, and since 2005, the team have been researching case study 
sites and carrying out a detailed mapping of practice (For further details 
click here). 2008 marks the final year of the project, and presents a 
timely opportunity for debate and knowledge exchange in this fast 
developing are of performance and interpretive practice.

Areas to be covered by the conference, and in which we encourage 
submissions, include (but are not limited to):

o  Making connections : the intersection of performance/performativity, 
site specific practice and notions of heritage;

o  Gauging impact : audience response and longer-term impact, the place of
interactivity, and community outreach;

o  Reports from the field : accounts and findings from research and 
evaluation projects in the UK and abroad. Some sessions at the conference 
will be devoted to the emerging findings of the PL&H research and the 
implications for future practice and policy making; but we are keen to 
hear about, and compare notes with, other research projects across the 
globe;

o  Developing practice : examples of practice - live and recorded - to
illustrate the range of performance practice and provide opportuni tie s to
interrogate that practice; workshops from practitioners and academics are
invited as a means of exploring how research and practice interconnect;

o  'research at the heart of practice' - the focus will be on research as
it informs practice, practice as it informs research and (not least) 
practice as a means of research in the museum/heritage sector.

The conference will consist of a variety of presentations: keynote 
addresses; academic papers (20 minutes + discussion); performances (e.g. 
short performances that illustrate innovative or experimental performance 
styles, or different approaches to interaction); workshops by 
practitioners or academics (e.g. exploring ways of translating research 
into practice, or of using performance as a research tool); panel 
discussions (3-4 linked papers); and round table discussions (involving 
short prepared 'provocations' on an agreed theme with maximum time for 
debate). Most sessions will be 90 minutes duration (3-4 papers per 
session) unless otherwise arranged.

We therefore warmly invite proposals for papers, performances, workshops 
and panel or round-table discussions from practitioners, academics, policy 
makers and others working in the cultural heritage sector. Contributions 
will be especially welcome from those around the world engaged in 
research, evaluation and development in this field.

Proposals or expressions of interest (300 words maximum) should be sent to
[log in to unmask] by September 14th 2007 . Ensure you provide 
your name; your organisation or company if applicable (including your 
position or post held); your postal and email addresses; the type of 
presentation you are offering; and your A/V or other technical or space 
requirements. Queries about content of proposed papers etc should be 
addressed to [log in to unmask] .

We expect to give responses to the proposals by Friday 12th October.


Keynote speakers announced:
Keynote speakers will include Baz Kershaw, Catherine Hughes and Laurajane 
Smith.

Catherine Hughes is a museum theatre practitioner and scholar, who
worked for many years at the Museum of Science, Boston. She wrote the
first book on museum theatre, Museum theatre: communicating with
visitors through drama (Heinemann 1998) and is currently completing a
major research project on the subject at Ohio State University.

Baz Kershaw is Professor of Drama at the University of Warwick and was
formerly Director of the five-year research project PaRiP (Practice as
Research in Performance). He has extensive experience as a director and
writer in experimental, radical and community-based theatre, and
recently mounted site-specific productions on the Bristol heritage ship,
the SS Great Britain. He is the author of The Politics of Performance
(Routledge 1992) and The Radical in Performance (Routledge 1999), and
editor of The Cambridge History of British Theatre, Vol 3 - Since 1895
(2004). His current research includes investigation of the nature of
performance ecologies.

Laurajane Smith is Reader in Cultural Heritage Studies and Archaeology
at the University of York.  She previously taught Indigenous Studies and
Cultural Heritage Management at the University of New South Wales,
Sydney, and worked as a cultural heritage consultant for many years.
She is author of The Uses of Heritage (Routledge 2006) and
Archaeological Theory and the Politics of Cultural Heritage (Routledge
2004), and continues to publish on topics such as the cultural politics
of identity and heritage management, community involvement, tourism and
ethics.

Further updates on the conference - including information about 
registration
- will be posted to the conference web page at
www.manchester.ac.uk/plh/conference.htm