Consuming the Past: Library Resources for PGRs

Call for Papers

Organised by Northumbria, Durham and Newcastle Universities.

As researchers we ‘consume’ texts, reading, interpreting and reusing material found in archives or specialist electronic resources. Libraries are a key tool in this process. Library-based research is no longer restricted to the book, but also encompasses archived materials, electronic databases and local resources. This conference provides an opportunity to explore both the practical and theoretical issues arising from attempts to understand the past: training sessions will investigate the use of archival resources in the arts and humanities whilst panellists will also consider how texts themselves conceptualise and appropriate the past.

Taking place at Northumbria University, this free one-day conference is funded by Vitae and the Northumbria Graduate School and will include a training session by two representatives of the British Library, exhibiting new ways of accessing printed texts and manuscripts, as well as a keynote address from Dr Matthew Grenby (Newcastle University). There will also be a wine reception held at the Literary & Philosophical Society – the largest independent library outside London. Here, independent historian Sean Creighton will discuss his experience of working with the Lit & Phil archives, followed by a tour of the holdings. This will provide valuable training in using non-academic archives and resources.

We invite proposals from students and academics for research papers exploring the interpretation, appropriation, and reconstruction of the past. We welcome work which considers all periods and countries, and from all fields of text-based research. Possible themes include (but are not limited to):

 - The ways in which historical and artistic depictions of the past are appropriated and consumed within different cultures and time periods.
 - The contemporary reconstruction of the past in the historical novel.
 - Explorations of the extent to which critical theory may be a useful and/or anachronistic tool for dealing with older texts.
 - Rethinking periodization.
 - Exploring the boundaries of oral and textual culture.
 - The theme of memory in historical writing and fiction.
 - The advantages and/or disadvantages of using electronic resources (such as Early English Books Online).
 - The ways in which textual editing reconstructs texts through a range of possible interventions.
 - Consideration of how far it is realistically possible to access the past.

For those staying in Newcastle there will be an optional visit to Bede’s World Museum the following day.

Lunch, refreshments and travel to the Lit & Phil will be provided. 

If you wish to attend please complete the registration form and send it to laurie.mckee@northumbria.ac.uk