New History Lab workshop

New History Lab workshop to discover what the study of history might be in the future
Researchers are to consider the unreliability of predictions of the future and assess what the impact of the study of history might be in years to come.

The University of Leicester’s New History Lab, in association with the Creating Academic Learning Futures Project, is holding a collaborative event ‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be…’ on Saturday 24th October 2009 from 10:00 to 16:00 at the University of Leicester.

The day workshop, will use Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia to create virtual future histories, and participants will collaborate to discover what the study of history might be in the future. In 1946, the Head of 20th Century Fox said: “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months.” This interactive event will make the link between Historical Research and Future Studies.

Malcolm Noble, research student in the University of Leicester’s Centre for Urban History, commented: “The New History Lab is thrilled to take interdisciplinarity for historians to its logical conclusion, and work with Future Studies. By looking at how historians might produce histories of the future, we hope to gain a better understanding of how historians conceptualize the past, and how we use documents and sources to do this.”

The New History Lab is a postgraduate workshop, which runs a variety of creative meetings and events throughout the University term. It offers MA and PhD students the chance to discuss their ideas and research in an informal arena. The Lab can also be found online in their blog, www.newhistorylab.org, and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=40353716678 and twitter is twitter.com/NewHistoryLab

The Creating Academic Learning Futures Project (CALF) www.le.ac.uk/beyonddistance/calf/ is a joint project between the University of Leicester and University College Falmouth, funded by the Higher Education Academy. It works together with students to help them surface and articulate views about the future of learning in higher education.

The event also includes coffee, a range of exotic sweets and lunch. To book a place at the workshop and get more information about ‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ please contact Malcolm Noble (mjn13@le.ac.uk) or Sandra Romenska (sr244@le.ac.uk).