This practical workshop is aimed at (re-) discovering the past as a source of hope for political and social progress for women and other marginalised groups. Together we will interrogate those methods of historiography and memory studies which draw our attention to grievances and suffering, instead following those traces from the past which counter the hegemonic memory that history is mostly about 'the grim lives of women', in the words of Jerome de Groot.Drawing on Ann Rigney, Suzannah Lipscomb, and Adrienne Mayor, we follow the traces of two of our foremothers buried at Hadrian's wall: two Scythian warrior woman come from Asia minor to serve in the Roman army, taking their graves as a starting point for telling history in a hopeful way which returns the power of agency to feminine actors. We then turn to objects from the British Museum's Feminine Power exhibition, using these transcultural objects as points of departures for our own creative-historiographical takes on non-binary and feminine actors from the past. Writing on these objects and stories will open up perspectives for memory professionals, practitioners, journalists, researchers and laypersons to reappraise the positive potential that the past may have for social and political issues in the present.

Places are limited to 20 participants and pre-booking is required. 

Book your place by selecting a (free) ticket for the workshop on our registration page: https://msa2023newcastle.dryfta.com/attendee-registration-tickets