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MATERIAL CULTURE, IDENTITIES AND INCLUSION
AHRC-funded conference
organized by PhD students of the Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester
9th and 10th February 2006
Fraser Noble Building, University of Leicester, UK

 

!!!Book a place now!!!
http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/conference.htm <http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/conference.htm> 

 

We are pleased to announce that the 'Material Culture, Inclusion and Identities' conference is now booking. Please note that we have limited delegate places, so we advise that you book early to avoid disappointment.

 

***CONFERENCE THEMES
As cultural institutions aiming to serve the public through their collections, museums and galleries are now facing questions regarding what they should collect, how collections should be interpreted and whose voices are being represented. Ultimately, museums need to justify their place within our modern society where communities and individuals have multi-layered cultural heritages, faith traditions, identities, interests and needs. This conference aims to reconsider our understanding of material culture, identity and inclusion. We also aim to explore how what we choose to collect, display and interpret in museums and galleries validates certain audiences' identities whilst excluding others.

 

***CONFERENCE QUESTIONS
The conference will seek to address the following key contemporary questions:

*What does 'material culture' mean, conceptualised and constructed within the 21st century museums and galleries?
*What role can museums and galleries play in supporting communities to express their cultural life, and personal and collective identities?
*What role can cultural institutions play in the government's social inclusion agenda?
*Which types of methodologies can inspire and help researchers unpick these themes?

 

***PROGRAMME
Attached with this email is a copy of the conference programme. The conference will bring together a sometimes disparate interdisciplinary academic and PhD research community. The selection of papers will bring together cutting edge research and critical thinking from 11 different museums, art gallery or heritage focused departments from across the UK. Subject matter raised by the papers is very diverse from how museums are helping countries to come to terms with Genocide to how contemporary African art is interpreted. This conference is therefore also open to museum professionals who are interested in keeping up to date with current thinking. 

***KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
We are particularly honoured that four distinguished academics have accepted our invitation to be the conference's keynote speakers. They are:

*Emeritus Professor Susan M. Pearce, Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester who will be discussing 'The Strange Story of the Thing, or The Material World in the Contemporary Novel'
*Professor Simon Knell, Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester on 'Objects, Identity, Inclusion: How the modern museum was made'
*Richard Sandell, Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester on 'Museums and the Combating of Prejudice'
*Andrew Newman, International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne on 'Countering Social Exclusion through Identity Construction: The Role of Museums and Galleries'.

***KEY SUBJECTS INCLUDE
*The controversy around the regeneration of the Maze Prison site in Northern Ireland
*Museums, Peace and Reconciliation in Lebanon
*Museums and Chinese Audiences: A Case Study from the Victoria and Albert Museum
*Illness in Contemporary Arts
*Social Inclusion and Museums: Celebration of 'Difference' Understanding 'Self' and 'Other'
*Jewish History in the Showcase: The Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition and the formation of Jewish identities
*Inclusive ways of consulting and researching collaboratively with disabled people
*Exhibiting Welsh cultural identity 

***WHO SHOULD ATTEND
*Academics with a research interest in museums, heritage, history, archaeology, cultural policy, art, religion and sociology.
*Museum, heritage and art gallery professionals
*Postgraduate and PhD students 

***CONFERENCE WEBSITE
Visit the website to see the provisional programme, read the abstracts of the papers and find out some information about the speakers: <http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/conference.htm> http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/conference.htm

***POSTERS !NEW!
Due to the overwhelming response and the high standard of abstracts submitted to the conference, we have decided to organise an additional poster session on the 9th February. This will be an opportunity for delegates to network, share ideas and find out further research. If you are interested in presenting a poster, please contact Vivian Ting at [log in to unmask] by 19 December 2005, with a title of your poster and a 200 words abstract to explain its content. The selected applicants will be notified by 9 January 2006. See the website for more information regarding the posters: <http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/posters.htm> http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/ka43/attic/posters.htm

***BOOKINGS
To secure a place on the conference please fill in the attached booking form or download it from the website. The delegate fee covers all refreshments and lunches, a drinks reception on the evening of the 9th February, a delegate pack and a copy of the conference proceeding.
Delegate Fees:
Two days academic/museum professional delegate rate:    £60
Two days student delegate rate:                                   £20
One day academic/museum professional delegate rate:      £ 30
One day student delegate rate:                                     £10

Forms should be returned to Barbara Lloyd by email at [log in to unmask], or by post at the following address:Barbara Lloyd, University of Leicester, Department of Museum Studies, 105 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7LG. 

***TRAVEL FUND FOR PhD STUDENTS
UK-based doctoral students who wish to attend the conference may be eligible to apply for support with travel costs. More information about this, including the travel fund criteria, is available on the conference website. 

***ENQUIRIES
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us:
*General enquiries:              Heather Hollins - [log in to unmask] 
*Bookings:                         Barbara Lloyd - [log in to unmask] 
*Posters :                          Vivian Ting - [log in to unmask] 
*Website information:           Kostas Arvanitis - [log in to unmask] 

Many thanks - The Conference Committee


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