Pasts in the Present

'Pasts in the Present’ is rooted in two simple-sounding but urgent questions: what is the cultural and social impact of former eras in the 21st century, and how does this interact with academic discourses that study these periods? Answers have become increasingly important in the 21st century as ideologies of nation, often connected to racism and intolerance, have weaponised ideas about the past for present political ends, and implicated academic disciplines (such as medieval studies) in doing so. Discovering the contemporary (ab)use of the past is thus vital for this particular field, but it may also be a broader issue that affects other research areas with as-yet unknown implications. Drawing on disciplinary bases in the arts and humanities (English, MLaC) and social sciences (Archaeology), the project will bring together other fields, such as economics and business studies, to consider how they too may shaped by ideas of the past, and how this affects the present moment in both academic and public discourses.

How are negative and inaccurate views of the past that are promoting racism, sexism and religious intolerance in the 21st century counteracted, and how can academic disciplines contribute to this? These questions drive this IAS funded Research Development project, bringing together academics from across  disciplines and engaging with heritage bodies and the wider public to highlight the impact of past eras in the present.

The phrase ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’ (attrib. George Santayana) depicts the desirable present as an absolute rupture from a well-defined, negative past. An example is the public perceptions of the Middle Ages, where ‘medieval’ is often used pejoratively to draw a clear line between the ‘Dark Ages’ and the enlightened present. Yet the long period’s influence is current, since medieval slogans have been used in 21st-century political contexts for racist and intolerant ends. However much we may want the medieval past to be over, it continues to influence the present. This is especially true in the arts and humanities, themselves historically rooted in the same ideologies of nation that are the ultimate cause of contemporary political extremism.

The ongoing past is not just a medievalists’ or Arts and Humanities issue, however, as different disciplines may struggle with similar challenges. The  objective for this phase of the project will be to identify and build a cross-faculty team to address questions from multiple disciplinary angles. What relationships to the past do scientific disciplines and business studies construct, and how are they used? Are these areas also inflected by unhelpful ideologies? This will engage with the social sciences and business studies to compare disciplinary practices and limitations, and thus suggest academic ways forward. Subsequently heritage groups’ insights will be helpful to engage with wider public perceptions of the past. ‘Pasts in the Present’ thus unites academic research and public discourse to address a growing cultural issue.   

Two key aims:

1. To develop new cross- and interdisciplinary approaches, a common thread between the various disciplinary understandings of the past is needed. The  concept of ‘value’ will be analysed, which connects ideas of academic worth with public concepts of cultural importance.
2. Building on 1), there will be an exploration of a key example of material culture as a case study for our newly-thematised interdisciplinary approaches to the past’s ‘value’. Material culture is a space in which different academic disciplines intersect, and is also key to public discourse as the most visible representation of the past.

To achieve these aims, there are two main objectives 

1. A seminar for the research team, ‘No (Disciplinary) Limits’, in which members present their disciplinary perspectives to learn from different approaches to ‘value’.
2. A public engagement activity focusing on the historical presence and cultural relationships of the mermaid carving in Durham Castle’s Norman chapel, including talks by experts (Dr Lydia Zeldenrust, Glasgow) and a musical commission performed by local Durham participants (musical director Simon Lee).