9th December, 2022
The University of Northampton’s Searchlight Archive Research Group is excited to open a call for contributors to a day’s workshop of around c. 30 attendees on December 9th, 2022. This day-long event at the Waterside Campus will explore how the extreme right in Britain and internationally have made use of the past. Whether this is for internal consumption, part of their pitch to radicalise new members, or wider appeals for public support, these visions of the past—often based in emotional rather than factual understandings—have a sustained place in that rhetoric.
This workshop is designed to be a space where the topic can be explored, rather than a formal conference. Perhaps you are currently researching this area and want to share a short 10-minute paper as a discussion prompt? Perhaps you work in heritage in this area and want to share some primary sources and discuss their use? Do you teach or otherwise work with this topic and want to share your practice? Do you want to suggest a panel discussion with yourself and colleagues?
Some possible topics include:
- The importance of ‘rebirth’ in the far right;
- The use of a fictionalised version of the past to develop extreme right ideals;
- How Colonial America and 1776 is spoken about in the US extreme right;
- The call back to a mythical white medieval Europe;
- How the recent past (eg Cable Street, WW2, Jan 6th) is mythologised
We would welcome any proposals that address the broad theme of the workshop. There is no need to submit a formal abstract, just a quick e-mail with your idea/topic and as much detail as you think is necessary. We are looking to develop this area, and will also explore with those on the day how else we might develop this. The initial deadline for ideas is the 9th of November.
To submit a contribution, or if you have any questions, please contact Dr Daniel Jones at: daniel.jones@northampton.ac.uk
HISTORY AT NORTHAMPTON 