Mapping Medieval Chester

After a few days of retreat in rural Worcestershire, helping my recently moved parents settle into their new home, I now feel able to set the colloquium in its proper context. For me, at least, it was a whirlwind, and it was thanks only to my excellent volunteers (Liza Penn-Thomas, Lisa Herlihy and Charlotte Jackson) that I remained anchored to the ground at all.

Internet access is rather limited here (in good weather, one has to sit among the bushes at the very bottom of the garden next to the LPG tank and be eternally grateful to the mercy of the nearest neighbour in sharing his wireless;  in bad weather or after dark, there’s none whatsoever), so my reflections are perforce but a modest pendant to Catherine’s thorough review of two days of the colloquium. But enough prefatory warble – it’s getting dark!

I think the colloquium attested to the fruitfulness of interdisciplinary conversation – panels, coffee break chats, and the Mapping Medieval Chester (MMC) project itself all show that we need to talk to our peers from other faculties, institutions and walks of life as regularly as possible.

It also, I think, attested that the digital humanities are here to stay, and that they offer far more than traditional scholarship with added baubles. They offer not only a vast range of novel outcomes (I’m thinking particularly about the multiple pathways into texts and maps that the project website facilitates), but pretexts and frameworks for reflecting on the purposes and methods of scholarship. One way this is evident is in MMC’s vibrant partnership with Sue Hughes and the Grosvenor Museum in Chester – the digital humanities offer accessibility in ways print editions perhaps cannot.

The particular resonance of these issues was apparent in the closing round table, when questions from Gareth Dean, Dan Power, Ralph Hanna and others provoked extensive debate between the project team and the conference delegates. We should look at ways to ensure this reflexivity continues as delegates as others begin to use the website in their research, teaching and personal lives (a project wiki perhaps?).

MMC has been a fascinating project in which to be involved, and the colloquium was equally fascinating. Thanks, then, to our speakers, delegates and volunteers for making the colloquium such a success.

Two colloquium participants, Sue Hughes (Grosvenor Museum, Chester) and Rev David Chesters (St John's Church, Chester) discuss the displays

On Thursday and Friday last week (30-31 July) Swansea University hosted the colloquium ‘Mapping the Medieval City: space place and identity’, a very successful event which also included the launch of the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ project digital resources.

The project team with Prof Noel Thompson, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Swansea University

The colloquium included a very wide range of contributions across many disciplines, including current work in the fields of literary studies, history, archaeology and GIS mapping. Delegates at the conference came from universities as far afield as Illinois, Athens (Georgia, U.S.), Copenhagen and Jyväskylä (Finland), from organisations in the heritage sector such as CADW, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and the Church of England Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division, and from institutions within Chester. I’m sure that other members of the project team will be blogging their own thoughts on the colloquium and website launch over the next few days. Here are my reflections on what was a really successful and celebratory event. (more…)

One of the outcomes of the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ project is a two-day colloquium in Swansea on July 30-31 next year. The colloquium is entitled ‘Mapping the Medieval City’ and will explore some of the broader themes of the project. We’d be delighted to hear from people who are interested in presenting papers, chairing sessions and contributing to round tables, as well as in simply attending. Full details are available here as a pdf or below. (more…)