Diverse Narratives - Minorities in Cheshire

[Harper]

Dr Jessica van Horssen at the University of Chester is leading Diverse Narratives, a project that focuses on the forgotten experiences of minority groups in Cheshire from 1914 to 1918. The project has a specially commissioned website (www.diversenarratives.com) to share the research and request new contributions.

According to Dr van Horssen: “Diverse Narratives is a research project designed to engage the people of Cheshire in researching and writing the local history of the Great War. By minority groups, we simply mean anyone who doesn’t ‘fit’ the traditional stories or narratives of the First World War, perhaps because of ethnic, religious or ideological differences.”

The Diverse Narratives site already has interesting articles on:

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  Australian Munitions Workers

  
  
  
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  Belgian Refugees

  
  
  
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  Conscientious Objectors

  
  
  
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  Handforth Concentration Prison

  
  
  
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  The Irish in Boughton, Chester

  
  
  
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  Jewish POWs

  
  
  
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  Lt-Colonel Hermann Hesse

  
  
  
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  Sir Muirhead Bone, War Artist and Etcher

  
  
  

The project and the website are great ways to share our research and expand our knowledge. Please have a look.

Diverse Narratives is part of the Gateways to the First World War (http://www.gatewaysfww.org.uk/ ) network and the Hidden Histories WW1 network (http://hiddenhistorieswwi.ac.uk/ ), which were both established by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), to engage with and support communities as they seek to commemorate and reflect upon the century-long legacy of the First World War.

To get involved in Diverse Narratives, please contact Dr Jessica van Horssen via email at j.vanhorssen@chester.ac.uk, via Twitter @Historiamagoria or by post to Dr J van Horssen, Department of History and Archaeology, Binks Building, The University of Chester, Parkgate Road, CH1 4BJ.

[MichaelBully]

Incredible site, very imaginative. Will be following this one ! Regards, Michael Bully

[Harper]

Diverse Narratives are holding a series of "Pop Up" exhibits across Chester in June. The first one starts today, 2nd June, in Chester, at the Forum Shopping Centre, and runs through Saturday afternoon.

I'll let you know more after I visit the exhibit this afternoon, but below are details from the website:

What was Cheshire really like during the First World War? Come to the Diverse Narratives Pop-Up Exhibition in your community this June to explore the hidden histories of Cheshire during the war! Curated by the Department of History & Archaeology at the University of Chester and researched by local community members, these stories will change what you may think Cheshire was like from 1914-1918. See you there!

Locations

2- 4June: The Forum Shopping Centre, Chester
11-12 June: Merseyway Shopping Centre, Stockport
18-19 June: Pyramids Shopping Centre, Birkenhead
25-26 June: The Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Macclesfield

For more information, or to explore this history in more depth, visit www.diversenarratives.com or contact us @CheshireWWI.

Sponsored by: The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Arts and Humanities Research Council Connected Communities, and the University of Chester