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Fe09: Coalbrookdale 300: Footprints of Industry
Conference Announcement and Call for Papers
3rd-6th June 2009
Coalbrookdale
United Kingdom
A conference commemorating the 300th anniversary of the first successful
commercial use of coke to smelt iron, taking place in the shadow of the
very furnace that saw the birth of the industrial revolution.
The 300th anniversary of coke smelting is an appropriate moment to
consider the impact of the industrial revolution on the modern world. It
will be 50 years since the iconic blast furnace at Coalbrookdale, often
called the 'birthplace of industry', was rediscovered. That last half
century has seen a dramatic expansion of research into the processes of
industrialisation, coupled with overwhelming public support for the
conservation of its material remains. The wide range of disciplines
involved: archaeology, history, metallurgy and conservation, have
themselves developed in response to the challenges of understanding this
often fragile heritage. Big themes and issues arise which have
tremendous relevance to the world today: environmental change, social
transformation, technological progress, leisure as industry and industry
as leisure.
This conference provides an exciting opportunity for inter-disciplinary
debate, discussion and analysis, in the context of a vibrant new
programme of restoration and re-interpretation of the Coalbrookdale site
by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum. In 2009 we can find ways to take forward
the study of these important processes and bring our findings to bear on
the reality of life today.
Outline Programme
Wednesday 3rd June 2009
Registration : Welcome : Wine Reception
Thursday 4th June 2009
Friday 5th June 2009
Saturday 6th June 2009
Papers in plenary sessions (see below); guided tours; dinners and party
Sunday 7th June 2009
Optional guided tours of the industrial heritage of the west midlands
region
Overall Thematic Outline
Please note that for all sessions, papers from the following groups will
be particularly welcomed:
* commercial/contracting/consulting archaeologists, at all levels of
seniority
* junior academic researchers (masters, doctoral or post-doctoral
students)
* independent researchers, including local study groups and community
archaeology programmes
* maritime, contemporary, historical and industrial archaeologists of
all shapes and sizes
* non-archaeological disciplines, especially those examining similar
issues in the contemporary world
* heritage management and conservation professionals
The overall aim is to try and capture the amazing breadth, diversity and
interdisciplinary nature of studies from the fields of the humanities,
social sciences and pure science which are investigating the period
c.1500 to the present day and the various technological, social,
cultural and environmental impacts of industriation (by which we include
the disciplines of archaeology, history, art history, metallurgy,
anthropology, landscape history & archaeology, economic history,
sociology, geography, historical geography, historical agronomy,
environmental sciences, palaeoenvironmental studies, psychology etc. ...
in no particular order and not intentionally excluding anyone who feels
their researches are relevant but are not on this list).
There is also extensive space for poster presentations.
This conference is the principal annual conference of the Society for
Post-Medieval Archaeology, the Historical Metallurgy Society, the
Association for Industrial Archaeology and the Newcomen Society.
Keynote presentations will be given by David Crossley, Marilyn Palmer
and Sir Neil Cossons.
Publication of the proceedings is anticipated.
Session Outlines
All sessions are plenary, and each session is expected to have thematic
and topical overlaps with others. Some papers outlining similar sites,
or using similar methodologies, might well fit into different sessions
depending on their emphasis. For example papers using osteological
evidence may appear in any or all of Session 2, 3 and 4. Equally papers
on shipbuilding might appear in any or all of Sessions 3, 4 and 5.
Depending on the actual papers recieved, some sessions may be split or
merged or otherwise altered. Whilst papers on specific projects will be
welcomed, submissions should strive to discuss the work within the
broader thematic contexts outlined below.
Session 1: Origins of Industrialisation
Why was north-west Europe the centre of post-medieval industrialisation?
How did the process of industrialisation occur, and what were the
factors which enabled its rapid development? Why did contemporary
societies elsewhere, which were arguably more technically advanced, not
develop in the same way? Papers in this session will seek to explore
these and other questions. Studies investigating social, cultural,
environmental and political issues surrounding the development of
industrialisation in various parts of the world are especially
encouraged. Papers from ongoing or recent research into the late
medieval and post-medieval periods in north-west Europe are particularly
welcomed, together with contributions from Africa, China and the
Mediterranean.
Session 2: The Inheritance of Abraham Darby
The iron industry was actually the last significant metallurgical
industry to adopt mineral fuel. This session will look at the earlier
use of peat, coal, coke and other fossil fuels in other industries
during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Glass, pottery and non-ferrous
metallurgy are particularly important, but the ways in which adaptations
were made socially and technologically in related industries will also
be examined. This session will also endeavour to explore the cultural
and environmental consequences of the new technology.
Session 3: Technology, science and religion
Industrialisation took place before and during the Englightenment. Many
aspects of technology were developed as the result of expanding
knowledge of the physical universe, conversely new discoveries in
science facilitated industrial development. At the same time new notions
of how humanity should live were being expounded - sometimes violently.
Key themes will include the role of religious outlook in industry,
relationships with science, and the broadercultural impact of
technological improvement, examining the radical changes in mindset that
took place in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries as a result of
industrialisation
Session 4: Britain as an industrial society
The social impact of industrialsation was overwhelming. This session
will look very widely at Britain as an industrial society by examining
the social and demographic changes wrought by industrialisation,
including landscape change and the rural economy as well as urban
industrialisation, the adoption of the factory system and the ways in
which capitalism was promoted, resisted and adapted.
Session 5: Industrialisation and globalisation
The process of post-medieval industrialisation was a global one,
intimately linked with European colonial expansion. This was not simply
a one-way process, nor even one of physical interaction; rather the
discovery of new worlds provoked new ways of looking at the old world,
and new technologies and industries. Papers in this session will deal
with the global impact of industrialisation, including the development
of international capitalism and its effect on local and regional
identities, responses to environmental change and the impact on
indigenous peoples.
Session 6: Understanding industrial heritage
The period of industrialisation has left a great physical legacy in
terms of buildings, structures, sites and landscapes. In north-western
Europe in particular this legacy is sometimes overwhelming, and existing
mechanisms for the preservation and interpretation of pre-industrial
sites and monuments are often inadequate for dealing with the complexity
and fragility of industrial heritage. This session will look at the
management of industrial heritage sites and landscapes, and issues
involved in conserving industrial heritage; in particular it will
explore the conflicts and tensions between ensuring wide access and
preserving the integrity of sites, monuments and landscapes.
Session 7: The way forward
Understanding the ways in which industrial processes shaped society and
the environment during the last 300 years is only the beginning of a
much greater contribution to the broader debate of how the world is
going to change for the next 300 years. Papers in this session will
examine the ways in which our understanding of the processes of
industrialisation can inform new developments in the UK and overseas.
This session will not only look at the way in which we deal with the
inheritance of industrialisation in the UK, but will also include
particular reference to present-day industrialisation in China and the
emerging economies of eastern Europe
Abstracts should be submitted as 'PDF', 'Plain Text' or 'Word 2003'
files (or earlier Word versions (no 'docx' files please)) to
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by 31st December 2008
If you think you might like to submit a paper, but are unsure as to
which session it might fit into, or feel that it fits into the overall
conference themes but is not catered for by the structure described
above, then please email to the address above with a brief synopsis and
a telephone number and we will contact you by telephone before 7th
December 2008 to discuss it.
This conference is being organised by Paul Belford on behalf of the
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
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Paul Belford, BSc, MA, MIFA
Head of Archaeology and Monuments
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
Coalbrookdale
TF8 7DQ
United Kingdom
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