Seeing History
Public History in Britain Now
Edited by Hilda Kean, Paul Martin and Sally J. Morgan
Francis Boutle Publishers
ISBN 0 9532388 9 X
Paperback 192 pages
Price per copy including postage: UK £10 Worldwide £12
The book
In recent years public history – the engagement with history now – has grown in Britain. Visits to heritage sites, museums and galleries are key leisure activities. Family and local history archives are packed with enthusiasts. In this collection – the first of its kind – the contributors write about history as part of a living present which is re-created, contested and challenged.
The starting points are the places, people and images the writers encounter in their everyday lives. They have a commitment to those whose lives are still excluded from historical practice and their essays blur the boundaries between history, art, culture and everyday life. Topics covered range from family photographs to women and the sea, from the 'heritage' site of Avebury to the history of the Bishopsgate Institute in the City of London.
Hilda Kean is course director of the MA in Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, Paul Martin is visiting lecturer in Material Culture at the University of Leicester and Sally J. Morgan is principal lecturer in Fine Arts at the University of the West of England
