An online talk by Hilary Orange as part of a workshop on industrial ruination hosted by the the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology, and its Young Members Board.
11 May 2024, Saturday. 10.00-12.00 GMT, 6th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology
The East-West series of workshops aims to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. Modern ruins are radically different from those ruins of ancient times that are customarily curated as archaeological heritage. They are irrational, wild and unterminated. In modern ruins, multiple changes occur quickly, making them both fascinating and disconcerting. This edition of the workshop delves into the ancient and modern ruins of industry as particular archaeological sites that allow, and demand, different explorations. The 6th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology brings together historians and archaeologists from the UK, China and Brazil to examine the ruins of industry as sources of information (archaeological evidence), inspiration and aesthetic experiences.
Abstract for Hilary Orange’s paper
Two hundred years ago, Cornwall – a peripheral, maritime region of the UK – emerged as a world leader in mine engineering and innovation, mostly for tin and copper. Today, a rich archaeological legacy of industrial sites and features remain, including sites of production, industrial settlements and related infrastructure. These deindustrialized landscapes are not static entities. Here, as elsewhere, surfaces have formed through the actions of geological, taphonomic and climatic forces, as well as through gravity and the actions of human and other species. In this talk, I explore how local people engage bodily with the surfaces of Cornish mining land, mostly but not only through walking interviews with a wide array of actors. The lecture aims to provide a nuanced discussion on postindustrial landscape, one that moves beyond iconic ruined structures to look instead more deeply at surface–body relations from a more-than-representational perspective.
PLACE:
Zoom (online meeting). More info & free registration here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/6th-east-west-workshop-on-industrial-archaeology-industrial-ruins-tickets-888220470337?aff=oddtdtcreator