Material Histories Cluster

Description

Historians at Cambridge have been blazing a trail in these areas already for many years through research projects and publications from members of the Faculty as well as teaching initiatives. Research and teaching on materialism, past materiality, and material culture has been developed by individuals as well as by faculty groups working collaboratively with each other and with Cambridge’s museums and collections. Members have been directly involved with the curation of research-led exhibitions such as Treasured Possessions, Madonnas and Miracles, and Feast and Fast. These exhibitions also involved important outreach activities which communicated the Cluster's research in material culture to wider publics.

The Material Histories research cluster, inaugurated in 2019, provides the intellectual space for considering the many material dimensions of the past. Cutting across conventional divides between sub-fields, periods and areas, it encourages members to form new collaborations and to build bridges between political, intellectual, social, cultural, and economic approaches to history. The Research Cluster currently includes around twenty members of the Faculty.

The activities of the Cluster have thus far included a round table event on the built environment and a workshop on ethnic diversity and cultural creativity, including handling sessions at the Fitzwilliam Museum. The Cluster looks forward to its next round table on indigeneity and material culture and to future events when they shall invite scholars from around the world (in person and by Zoom) to present and discuss their methods and research, share skills and help developing project ideas within the Cluster.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

2019

Contact details

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Categorisation

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University affiliation(s)

University of Cambridge
Cambridge