an archaeology of the east midlands, class 9. radcliffe autumn 2014

An Archaeology of the East Midlands

Class 9: Heritage, history and identity. How the past contributes to the Regional identity of the East Midlands

Tutor: Keith Challis

east-midlands-archaeology.blogspot.co.uk

Recap: Last Week

• What is Industrial Archaeology?• 1750-1900 Continuity and Change• Primary Industry in the Midlands• Secondary Industry in the Midlands

• Discussion: Framework Knitting


Class Summary

• Heritage, history and identity• Defining the East Midlands• Learning Review

• Coffee Break

• End of Course Paperwork


Section 1: Heritage, History and Identity

Heritage, History and Identity

• Cultural heritage: the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

• Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge).



• Preservation demonstrates a recognition of the necessity of the past and of the things that tell its story

• Preserved objects also validate memories

• Heritage can be politically divisive and manipulated for political ends (Nazi ideas of prehistory

• People value the past and its preservation (NT one new member every 42 seconds),

• Restoration and other similar TV programmes



• Many academics felt that the heritage industry espoused an outdated story; preaching constructed deceptions which contributed to a climate of decline, and by preserving the past, were stifling Britain’s creativity.

• When Labour swept to power in 1997, it wanted to look forward, not back: ‘Cool Britannia’.

• Government investments (such as the Millennium Dome) were frequently “history-free zones.”



• The past remains enduringly popular

• Heritage organisations adjusted attitudes and presentation to a new generation and new expectations – open, inclusive, tactile

• Recession fuels interest in the past (NT membership and visitor numbers have grown since 2008)

• Community Heritage a growing area – social enterprise


Section 2: Defining the East Midlands

Defining the East Midlands

• As a region the East Midlands is largely a modern geopolitical concoction

• Bits of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and all of Northamptonshire don’t fit

• The Staffordshire Trent Valley is missing




England?


• How would an archaeologist define the East Midlands?

• Has your definition – or sense of the region – changed over the past 10 weeks?


Section 3: Learning Review

Learning Review

Earlier Prehistory in the Midlands.

Iron Age to Dark Age, Cultural Transitions in the Archaeological Record.

A Disputed Land: Angles, Saxon and Vikings in the East Midlands.

The Medieval Countryside of the East Midlands.

The Medieval Towns of the East Midlands.

The East Midlands, 1600-1900

Themes in Industrial and Early Modern Archaeology.


Learning Review

• Earlier Prehistory in the Midlands


Learning Review

• Iron Age to Dark Age


Learning Review

• Angles, Saxon and Vikings.


Learning Review

• The Medieval Countryside.


Learning Review

• Medieval Towns.


Learning Review


• The East Midlands, 1600-1900.

Learning Review

• Industrial and Early Modern Archaeology.


Section 4: Self Assessment

Self Assessment

• Understand in general terms the chronology and material culture of human activity in the East Midlands.

• Appreciate some of the factors that uniquely characterise the archaeology and history of the East Midlands.

• Have a broad appreciation of archaeological research techniques and so be able to critically assess archaeological research and literature.

• Be familiar with and have an outline grasp of some of the main techniques of archaeological research.

• Be able to engage critically with archaeological evidence for the East Midlands so as to achieve a fresh appreciation of the landscape and history of our region


an archaeology of the east midlands, class 9. radcliffe autumn 2014

Education

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heritage industry

community heritage

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