Curating History Workshop
What happens when curators and scholars are brought together in museums
Published on Tuesday, December 06, 2016
Abstract
Are there new and old ways of curating history in permanent exhibitions? How is it possible to bring together museums, academia, and the public? In organising this workshop, we would like to offer a place for discussion where curators and scholars from a broad variety of institutions (museums, universities, research institutes etc.) elaborate a joint reflection in both theoretical and practical terms, structured around four sessions: History, Responsibility, Mediation and Communication (between Curators & Scholars).
Announcement
Presentation
Museums display objects constructed in historical complexity which cannot be explained by one single narrative. This complexity constitutes an obstacle for museum actors, who are assigned the task of providing an interpretation that can never embrace the entirety of the narratives contained in one object. Additionally, this difficulty expands when objects have to be placed in the narrative of permanent exhibitions, which present certain specific constraints.
Permanent exhibitions are at the core of the work of most museums. Even if ‘permanent’ does not mean eternal, these exhibitions are the public expression of the museum’s collections and mission. Thus, considering the limitations in both presenting the historical complexity of objects and taking into account the constraint of choosing a narrative for permanent exhibitions, we wish to look out for ways in which the museum can be turned into a place of convergence where curators, researchers and audiences can think historically about objects.
Are there new and old ways of curating history in permanent exhibitions? How is it possible to bring together museums, academia, and the public? In organising this workshop, we would like to offer a place for discussion where curators and scholars from a broad variety of institutions (museums, universities, research institutes etc.) elaborate a joint reflection in both theoretical and practical terms, structured around four sessions: History, Responsibility, Mediation and Communication (between Curators & Scholars).
Confirmed guest speakers
- Kim Sloan, The British Museum
- Marta Lourenço, Museums of the University of Lisbon
- Sébastien Soubiran, University of Strasbourg
Argument
The European University Institute, in Florence, the Global History & Culture Centre at the University of Warwick, and the CHAM – Centro de Humanidades, in Lisbon, in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Royal College of Art, in London, welcome papers for the workshopCurating History, which will take place in Florence from the 10th to the 13th of October 2017.
You are invited to send proposals (max. 250 words, in PDF) for a 4000-word paper of a case study or a theoretical discussion that fits one of the four sessions: History, Responsibility, Mediation and Communication (between Curators & Scholars). The paper will be the basis for a 15-minute presentation at the workshop. For more information on the programme and sessions, go to: https://curatinghistory.wordpress.com/
Please ensure that you indicate your name, academic/professional affiliation and which session you are writing your paper for. However, depending on the number of papers received, the organising committee may have to decide to allocate papers to a different session.
Submission guidelines
Deadline extension:
1 February 2017.
We welcome papers related to pre-20th century history or history of science, and particularly papers in line with the ‘History’ and ‘Responsibility’ sessions.
Selection of abstracts will take place during the following two weeks. Once selected, participants will be invited to write their papers and submit them to the organising committee by the 1st September 2017. Papers will be made available so that participants can prepare for the discussion.
The organising committee is applying for funding to help covering travel expenses or accommodation in Florence. However, at this stage, grants for participants cannot be guaranteed.
Email for abstract submission: curating.history@gmail.com
Scientific committee
- European University Institute
- Charlotte Bellamy
- Deborah Dubald
- Bruno A Martinho
- CHAM – Centro de Humanidades
- Carla Alferes Pinto
- Sofia Lapa
- Global History and Culture Centre, University of Warwick
- Holly Winter
- Josephine Tierney
- V&A Museum / Royal College of Art
- Matthew Wells
Subjects
- History (Main category)
Places
- European University Institute. Villa Salviati. - Via Bolognese 156
Florence, Italian Republic
Date(s)
- Wednesday, February 01, 2017
Attached files
Keywords
- history, museum, curator, scholar, object, exhibition
Contact(s)
- Charlotte Bellamy
courriel : curating [dot] history [at] gmail [dot] com
Information source
- Charlotte Bellamy
courriel : curating [dot] history [at] gmail [dot] com
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Curating History Workshop », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, December 06, 2016, https://doi.org/10.58079/wdv