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The e-Gateway for
Historians. November/December 2007:
Volume VIII, Number 10 ISSN:1471-745X
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
EDITORIAL
SAVING
LOST LANGUAGES
PRE-MODERN TOWNS
CONFERENCE 2008
ARCHAEOLOGY ’08 – Two Day
Conference at the
SAVING LOST LANGUAGES
Apparently every 14 days a language dies, and by
2100, more than half of the over 7,000 languages spoken on Earth are likely to
disappear. Many of them have never been
recorded.
As commonly used languages like English, Chinese
and Spanish etc. extend their use, children whose parents speak lesser-known
languages often use the dominant language in preference to their own local
one. Although this has happened
throughout human history, it appears that the rate of language disappearance
has accelerated dramatically in recent years.
The languages of Romans, Anglo Saxons,
Scandinavians and
National Geographic's Enduring Voices Project is trying to preserve endangered languages by
identifying language hotspots - the places on our planet with the most unique,
poorly understood or threatened indigenous languages - and documenting the
languages and cultures within them.
This important project deserves the support of all who love language and
history.
For more details: Enduring
Voices - Documenting the Planet's Endangered Languages –
see: www.nationalgeographic.co.uk
PRE-MODERN TOWNS
CONFERENCE 2008
MIGRANTS AND MINORITIES IN THE
You are invited to attend the 30th
annual meeting of historians, geographers, archaeologists and others working on
the medieval and early modern town. This year's meeting will be held on
Starts: 10.15 ends
http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/academics/about/dr-ian-archer
Ian Archer,
ARCHAEOLOGY ’08 – Two Day
Conference at the
CURRENT
ARCHAEOLOGY – the magazine with all the latest discoveries in the world of
archaeology – is organising a major new conference event in conjunction with
the
HISTORY COURSES TO EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE:
HISTORY ON TELEVISON:
The History Channel has plenty of coverage in the
run up to Remembrance Day, and in December Not Forgotten sees Ian
Hislop visiting some of
For details of all History Channel programmes: www.thehistorychannel.co.uk
For National Geographic programmes: www.nationalgeographic.co.uk
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A selection of
previous editorials
July/August 2007
FIRST
CALL FOR PAPERS –
The Urban History Group Annual Conference will take place on
This is the First Call for sessions and papers: Urban Boundaries and
Margins
The conference
will explore the concept of boundaries and margins in the context of the city.
The theme is interpreted broadly to encompass not only the identification of
various types of boundaries – spatial, social, cultural, economic and political
– but also the processes that help create, sustain as well as contest the
legitimacy and practices of such boundaries. This focus draws attention
to the differences as well as the similarities between various groups and
activities in the city, and explores how these could change over time. Details
of the themed sessions can be obtained by contacting the conference organiser
shown below. The conference
committee invites proposals for individual papers as well as for additional
sessions. The deadline for
expressions of interest for sessions and papers is
For
further details please contact:
Dr David Green (conference organiser)
david.r.green@kcl.ac.uk
July, 2006.
Solving life’s big
mysteries.
|
P |
ROBABLY the best-known missing person
to-date is that of Lord Lucan who disappeared in November 1974 following the
murder of his children’s nanny and an attack on his estranged wife. The Seventh Earl of Lucan, aged 39, has
not been seen since. His body has
never been found and he was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999.
An
investigation into the Lord Lucan murder case was reopened in October 2004 -
almost 30 years after his disappearance - when a new, computer-generated image was issued of how Lord
Lucan would look aged about 70 years.
Detectives used DNA profiling to
try to solve the case. But so far DNA testing has failed to provide
conclusive evidence that sheds any light on the Lucan mystery which still grips
the imagination of the public.
Now in a ground-breaking partnership
between the National Missing Persons Helpline, and the newly launched Crime and
Investigation Network, there are hopes of solving some long-term mysteries.
For the first time regular television
appeals for information on unidentified bodies are being shown on national
television. The
The National Missing Persons Helpline has a dedicated ID & Reconstruction department which can produce age progressions of missing people, post mortem artist's impressions, facial reconstructions and can perform detailed searches on our extensive database.
An extensive database of the unidentified
cases from the
For further information contact:
National Missing Persons Helpline - 020 8392
4513 / 07957 406940 or media@missingpersons.org
The Crime & Investigation Network on 0207
941 5751 or email alexes.rogers@bskyb.com Also visit www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk
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Waves of Destruction – ancient Tsunamis hit
There are Tidal Waves,
like the Severn Bore and then there are Tsunamis. In the wake of the devastation wreaked by the
most recent of these killer waves we examined the history of ancient tsunamis
and found details of three uncomfortably close to home to home: Tsunamis of
biblical proportions, like the recent catastrophic one in South-East Asia, have
been recorded in the annals by many past historians like Heredotus, but perhaps
the one closest to us in Britain occurred long before man put pen to paper. Called
the Storegga Slides, the first of these three massive earth slides was
triggered by an earthquake, about 30-35,000 years before present, off the coast
of western
February, 2005
CHARIOTS
OF
Two amazing finds during recent weeks
have thrown new light upon life in Roman Britain. One discovery by archaeologists excavating
part of a garrison in
ARCHAEOLOGY AND ‘THE LITTLE
PEOPLE’
Our
folk history is peopled with mysterious miniature human beings who have
appeared in the ancient literature, songs and the art of most continents for
centuries. These creatures are often
credited with strange powers, and have been either revered or feared by their
‘normal’ neighbours right into the 20th century. Children everywhere have grown up with
stories of elves, fairies, leprechauns, pixies, and trolls, all creatures who
were believed to live either underground, in deserted areas or inside
mountains. Now it looks as if
archaeology has proved that there is at least a grain of truth in these stories
with the discovery of homo floresiensis, a diminutive
modern man, by archaeologists on the remote Indonesian
An
Australian research team at Liang Bua
cave,
If
such humans also existed in Europe, as scientists believe is possible, then it
is likely that they would come into conflict with the larger homo sapiens which
would account for stories of ‘little people’ living on the edges of society,
either by choice or because they had been driven out. Such small individuals would be more agile,
and fleet-of-foot, than their larger neighbours who may give rise to tales of
vanishings and flight. To survive
alongside homo sapiens these diminutives may have
evolved a system of co-operation with their larger neighbours by supplying them
with services, hence the stories of elves as shoemakers etc.
Time
and again folk stories have been proven to have an element of truth in them.
With the help of science and archaeology, perhaps we are on the verge of
discovering, once and for all, if these fairy-tales are true or false.
November,
2004:
The
www.merciacinema.org.uk
Not all history is about saving crumbling documents covered
with ancient, illegible handwriting.
Documents and photographs of the 20th century are as much in
need of collection and conservation as those from previous centuries. Here we have a very enthusiastic, pro-active
society that has embarked upon a very worthwhile project in compiling A National
Gazetteer of Cinema Buildings, and
would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has information about cinema
buildings in their area. They will
provide you with a survey form for completion.
Log on to their website for more details. www.merciacinema.org.uk
The Mercia Cinema Society was
started by four people in
Anyone interested in the ‘hardware’ of cinema is invited to
join. The annual membership is £10.00 / £15.00 (payable to Mercia
Cinema Society). If you would like a
book-list, or have any questions about the society, and for a free trial issue of the Mercia Bioscope please
contact the Administrator Mervyn Gould
: Mervyn.Gould@virgin.net
______________________________________________________________________________________________
September, 2003:
NEW
ON-LINE HISTORY COURSES FROM
The College-on-the-Net was conceived in 2001 by
archaeology tutor Lyn Bright, who decided to launch an on-line course to
address the shortage of tutors in GCSE and A level Archaeology in
This
enterprise was a such a success that the choice of courses has now been
extended, to include Archaeology, World Archaeology, Classical
Civilisation, Local History, Egyptology, Creative Writing, and Life
Coaching.
These multi-level courses are now
taught on-line by a collective group of independent academics, lecturers and
specialist trainers.
LOCAL HISTORY –
the latest College-on-the-Net course, will be launched
this month, September. Entitled - Down Your Way: research techniques in
local history, this 20 session course covers a wide range of aspects on
local historical research, from the
basics, including document analysis and locating historical resources, through to oral history techniques,
historical photography, and gender, ethnic, industrial, and transport history
(including aviation). Issues such as anthropometrics
are also covered in the final session.
The introductory
block covers the origins of place names, newspapers as an historical resource,
and an introduction to parish records. The importance of organisation is
addressed in this section.
Other sessions examine the English
Poor Law, Education and Public Health, use of census etc., and the role of the
armed forces.
Tutors will endeavour to tailor the
course to individual needs. For example the course focus can include Scotland,
Wales, Ireland, and the Channel Isles if required; or if a student has a
specific research project in mind (or wishes to write a book), tutors will to
assist them.
www.college-on-the-net.co.uk or
www.college-on-the-net.com
___________________________________________________________________________________
July, 2003:
AN INITIATIVE TO
PROVIDE HISTORY WEBSITES FOR LOCAL USE.
The BBC Coventry
and Warwickshire website www.bbc.co.uk/coventry
was launched in April 2001, as part of the BBC's project to provide local
websites for every English county www.bbc.co.uk/england
The site covers
everything in local news, events, opinions and entertainment. Local history was
also added to reflect the importance of the area's history to its current
identity.
Web producer,
Faye Claridge said: "Local history is a key
section on the website now. In particular, the events of World War Two have had
such an impact on the attitude, appearance and population of Coventry that it
was very important we covered the period thoroughly on the website.
"The spirit
of optimism and forgiveness that came with peace is something people from the
Coventry area can be really proud of. Through the website, locals and international
internet users alike can now remember this spirit in a unique way."
The material is
really special and includes exclusive online films, never heard before audio
clips and a wealth of photographs.
In addition to
war features, the section covers archaeology, industrial history, stately
homes, historical figures and more. Explore it all here:
www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/features/local-history/
April, 2003:
WAR and the
Daniel Libeskind’s extraordinary War Museum North hovers on the
edge of the
Last week HistoryGateway visited the museum at the invitation of The
History Channel, for a private view and presentation which was also enjoyed by
an invited audience of History Channel devotees.
As we all soon discovered, within the building
the chaos theory continues, walls lean, ceilings and floors slope and
curve. In some areas space is upward,
but walls encroach, in others space is outward, opening like a clearing. Vehicles hang precipitously above the
visitor, preparing to plunge down a ramp.
The displays
too, are different from conventional museums.
Here, there are no exhibits dedicated to battle plans and tactics,
instead the emphasis is on the individual, and how war has shaped people’s
lives from 1900 to-date. What he/she
wore, experienced, coped with, and suffered.
Part of this suffering is shown in graphic detail by The Big Picture - a large-scale, audio-visual presentation,
projected all around the visitor onto 20 screens simultaneously, some over 5
metres high. There are three shows, each
using powerful images and soundtracks of personal experiences. The effect is profoundly moving, particularly
when children recount their stories of suffering from wars around the world.
This is an
extraordinary war museum, not least because of its usual shape, but also
because of the anti-war element running through the entire building. The disorientation and confusion of war, and
its aftermath, are graphically and confidently displayed in The Imperial War
Museum North. It presents a twenty-first
century view of war that has not been addressed previously, to our knowledge,
by any war museum in this country. Our
verdict is, that it is well worth the journey from
wherever you live.
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February, 2003:
BRITISH LIBRARY TO SHOW PAY PER VIEW
Continuing its clear commitment to electronic distribution, the British
Library has revealed that encryption technology will enable it to send out
information on a pay-per-view basis in the future.
Initially, access will be to articles from science journals like The
Lancet, and more specialist titles.
According to Information World – No.187 this will be a secure system
based on Adobe Content Server encryption and Adobe Acrobat eBook
Reader software, and is designed to overcome publishers’ concerns that
documents could be distributed widely once in digital format. The system means that encryption can be set
to ensure that users only print documents once.
Information World advises that the system, which has been tested over a
two-year period, will enable users to log on and download articles.
For more information on the latest new from The British Library:
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