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Apologies for cross posting _*Call for papers*_ _**_ _*RGS-IBG Annual Conference, Manchester: 26-28 August 2009*_ _* *_** <https://gesmail.physics.gla.ac.uk/webmail/www.rgs.org/AC2009>_**_ Session Title:* Certain subjects? Constructing identities, personalities and personas from the archive.* Sponsored by the *Historical Geography Research Group* //Session Organisers:/ *Isla Forsyth, Will Hasty, Cheryl McGeachan and Jo Norcup*/* (University of Glasgow)* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ‘I have become a collector of shards. Shards of memory, things passed down: told to me at the end of this long line of telling. I want to catch these shards, these half-lit, often, paste jewels. I don’t know how authentic they are, does it even matter? For me it doesn’t matter. I am making anew, building something from the remains. Wanting to honour the fleeting; the fragment, fractured histories and stories. Not passed down, but dredged up.’ (Terri-Ann White, 2004) For the historical geographer the site of the archive has always been one of significance, a treasure trove of wonderments, and often deep frustrations. In its many guises, the archive provides the researcher with the opportunity to explore the terrains of worlds past through the /lives/ of real people. Lives can be (re)constructed through (geo)biographical research, fragments of a life pieced together from the texts, memories and artefacts of the archive; and, if only momentarily, that life has an afterlife, a second opportunity to exert an affect upon the world. This session aims to critically engage with the archival encounter, the interaction between researcher and subject, and ask questions about the different types of identities, personalities, and personas which can emerge through archival investigation. What types of identities are being constructed by the researcher and in doing so what is inevitably being left hidden? What different types of archives are being used to construct these identities, personalities and personas? In what ways are we implicit in the creation of identity, personality and persona attributed to our certain subjects, indeed in what ways are our subjects certain at all? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Potential topics that papers could focus upon include (but are not limited to): · The alternative types of archives being sought out by the historical geographer · The different types of stories/narratives emerging from these alternative sources · Questions arising from the ‘incomplete’ archive and what challenges this can pose for the historical researcher · The role of the researcher in constructing the different identities, personalities and personas of their chosen subjects · The implications of absence in the archive If you are interested in submitting a paper, please contact Cheryl McGeachan ([log in to unmask]).The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 3rd 2009. Please include the following information when you submit your abstract: Name Affiliation Contact email Title of proposed paper Abstract (no more than 250 words) Any technical requirements (video, data projector, sound, etc.)