Collectors / Collecting / Collections 

26th Apr 2019 10:00am-6:00pm 

This Study Day focuses on the role of collectors, collecting and collections as objects of study and as systems of knowledge that shape research practices. In thinking about and with collections, including their definitions and limits, this training day invites interdisciplinary dialogue and methodological reflections that speak across arts and humanities territories.

Call for papers

Suggested areas for enquiry include:

How are collections formed, defined and contained? How do the collecting particularities of people and places shape the collections we work with? In whose image are collections made? What traces and imprints do collectors and institutions leave on their collections? What classification systems, storage and display strategies structure their meaning? How might these be reinterpreted and read against the grain? How are cultural values created and sustained by practices of collecting and by collection preservation and disposal? What tactics might be needed for working with large-scale and unruly collections? How might we respond to collections’ limits, gaps and silences? Proposals for presentations are welcome from AHRC TECHNE studentship holders whose research concerns any aspect of Collectors / Collecting / Collections. The event provides an opportunity to present work-in-progress, to share the challenges and opportunities presented by the themes, and to develop tools and approaches to support and enhance research. The day will include short presentations from student researchers, followed by responses from academics from the organising institutions (University of Brighton, V&A/RCA, Royal Holloway, Kingston University), and open discussion. Students selected for participation will be asked to submit a piece of writing, such as a relevant extract from a draft chapter (c.1,000-3,000 words), one month before the event. This will be pre-circulated to all participants to enable meaningful debate on the day. AHRC TECHNE students will be able to claim travel expenses from their home institution. Lunch and all refreshments will be provided free of charge.

To submit a proposal to present at the Collectors / Collecting / Collections Study Day, please email the following to collectstudyday@gmail.com as a .doc or docx attachment, by 23.59 GMT, Monday 11 March: your name, email address, institution, proposed presentation title, 300-word (max) abstract and a two-sentence biography.

For any questions regarding this conference, please contact the University of Brighton TECHNE student organisers, Caroline Hamilton and Claudia Treacher, at collectstudyday@gmail.com