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The Liverpool University Centre for Archive Studies seminar series starts next week – Monday 2 November and takes as its theme ‘Archives and Conflict’. The first event in the series will be a paper by Professor Charles Esdaile, of the School of History, who will present a paper entitled 'In search of past experience: re-enactment as virtual archive' He will be accompanied by members of John Lilburne's Regiment of Foot of the Army of Parliament in the Sealed Knot, in full kit. Professor Esdaile writes: 'There are very few ways in which we can engage with the human experience of the past: it is, as they say, another country. But, for all that, there are some parts of the human experience of the past with which we must try to engage if we are to understand the mechanics of particular situations or events. This is particularly so, perhaps, of what happens both physically and emotionally on the battlefield. My own specialism is the Napoleonic period, but the same point applies to most periods of warfare from the ancient period right up to the very near past. If I am involved in historical re-enactment, then, it is among other reasons because it is a very useful research tool. The dangers and discomforts are infinitely less, of course - what happens at Sealed-Knot musters or, indeed, the meetings of any other re-enactment group - does not even begin to reflect the realities of battle: we do but see through a glass darkly. Yet, even so, if Sealed-Knot battles are not real, they are not quite 'unreal' either. On the contrary, they are very intense experiences that make for very intense emotions. In short, what is on offer is a chance of coming as near as any of us can to battle in the age of 'horse and musket'; that may not, thank God, be very close, but it has yet informed my research in all sorts of way.' Everyone will be very welcome to join us for what promises to be an illuminating event – we hope you will also join us for other seminars in future weeks as follows: 9 November: Dr Toby Haggith (Imperial War Museum) - The Film Archives of the Imperial War Museum 16 November: Dr Andrew Flinn (University College London) - “Sites of Resistance”: Independent and community-led archives, challenging histories 23 November: Dr Jeremy Ashbee (English Heritage) - Conflict in interpreting the English castles of north Wales Please let me know if you plan to attend. Please find attached a poster for the whole series. The first seminar will take place at 6 pm in the Lecture Room in Civic Design, 74 Bedford Street South, Liverpool. Future seminars will take place in Lecture Room 1 in the School of History, 9 Abercromby Square, Liverpool (doors close at 6 pm). Further information about LUCAS events is available on the LUCAS website: http://www.liv.ac.uk/lucas/events.htm For further details, please contact me: Alexandrina Buchanan (Dr) Lecturer in Archive Studies School of History University of Liverpool email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 0151 794 2390 Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra