TAG2019-UCL

With the reawakening of mainstream nationalism and reestablishment of right-wing political hegemony throughout Europe and the Americas, the past is once again weaponized. Archaeological and historical narratives are being adapted to support and coalesce national identities, ethno-religious-geographic boundaries, and anti-immigration policies. These mythical pasts are also being used to justify ethnic violence, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism – including, most recently, on 15th March 2019, the murder of 50 worshippers at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. This session will examine how, where and why these mythical pasts are (re)created. It will discuss the leaky pipelines of our disciplinary public engagement. It will ask how historians and archaeologists, and other humanities scholars, can work together to challenge the misuse of archaeological and historical evidence, ancient DNA, archives, texts and images, by those involved in populist politics, the digital right and mainstream media. Through this session discussion, it is hoped that we can establish ways forward with which to engage with, and challenge, these populist narratives.

Organisers: Kenny Brophy; University of Glasgow • Mark Hobbs; University of East Anglia • Lorna Richardson; University of East Anglia

9:30 | Session organisers | Introduction

9:40 | Greg Judges, University of Leeds | Living pasts: emotions and heritage in the post-truth era

9:50 | Sarah May, Swansea University | Coffwich Drweryn, heritage of conflict and grassroots nationalism

10:00 | Bethany Hardcastle, Independent Researcher | Music, nationalism... and Vikings?

10:10 | Jonathan Last, Historic England | Dwelling in the landscape: a challenge to nationalist archaeology

10:20 | Megan Gooch, Historic Royal Palaces | Heritage, art and commemoration: a centenary without history

10:30 | Miles Russell, Bournemouth University | God’s Chosen People: dangerous narratives in Early Medieval ‘history’

10:40 | Lily Hawker-Yates, Canterbury Christ Church University | “A Part of England’s Story”

10:50 | Emily Hanscam, Durham University | The Romanian myths of origin and the postnational critique: challenging reactionary populism

11:00 | Perry Stewart, Glasgow School of Art | Cheddar Man and the Daily Mail: Representing ‘controversial’ archaeology in the British Press and reading digital public discourse

11:10 | Mark Hobbs, University of East Anglia | The assault on Holocaust memory and history: Holocaust denial and the Leuchter
Report

11:20 | - | BREAK

11:50 | Tom Booth, Francis Crick Institute | I said it once before but it bears repeating: heritage is not just about our ancestors

12:00 | Kenny Brophy, University of Glasgow; Lorna Richardson, University of East Anglia | Discussion

13:00 | - | END