{"id":2114,"date":"2019-09-29T15:29:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T03:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/?p=2114"},"modified":"2019-09-29T16:24:46","modified_gmt":"2019-09-29T03:24:46","slug":"the-amazing-1869-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/the-amazing-1869-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"The amazing “1869” conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Otago hosted a brilliant hybrid conference this week, the \u201c1869 Conference and Heritage Festival\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 By \u201chybrid\u201d I mean that it was the annual conference for the Australasian Victorian Studies Association, while also celebrating the University of Otago\u2019s 150th anniversary, and sitting alongside the Dunedin Heritage Festival.\u00a0 While the Centre for Colonial Culture was a key sponsor, with Associate Professor Angela Wanhalla as one of the co-convevors (together with Kirby Hallum), a cross section of the university\u2019s faculty was represented on the organising committee.\u00a0 The melange meant that most people engaged with papers that they would normally never encounter at their more usual disciplinary conferences, although this added to, rather than diminished, the event\u2019s success.\u00a0 [See below for photos]<\/p>\n

On Wednesday evening, the conference began with an all-women panel, looking at \u201cHeritage through Words, Pictures and Threads\u201d.\u00a0 Chaired by Kirby, the panel featured the novelist and academic, Tina Makereti, who discussed her latest novel, The Imaginary Lives of James Poneke<\/em>; Lisa Chatfield, the producer for the BBC television adaptation of The Luminaries<\/em>; Madeleine Seys, author of Fashion and Narrative in Victorian Popular Literature<\/em>; and Otago\u2019s Catherine Smith, an expert behind the science of traditional M\u0101ori weaving.\u00a0 This was a wonderful collaboration, exciting for those interested in the sumptuous garments of the Victorian era, but also drawing a number of different \u201cthreads\u201d together.\u00a0 This was followed by a reception held in Te Tumu: School of M\u0101ori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies.<\/p>\n

1869 was formally opened in the Otago Museum on Thursday (26 September) with a mihi whakatau from Tuari P\u014dtiki representing both K\u0101i Tahu and the university, a short welcome from the DVC Research, Professor Richard Blaikie, and an amusing and uplifting speech from the Hon Grant Robertson, an Otago alumnus as well as the current (among other portfolios) Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.\u00a0 The PVC Humanities, Professor Tony Ballantyne then introduced the first keynote speaker, Megan P\u014dtiki of Te Tumu, who discussed how the school established in 1869 contributed to the demise of the speaking of te reo M\u0101ori at \u014ct\u0101kou, just under 30 minutes drive from the city.\u00a0 However, in more recent years the concerted efforts of local people have seen the revival in the language at the k\u0101ik.<\/p>\n

There are too many individual presentations to mention them all.\u00a0 Most were what one might expect at a history or literature conferences, but also sprinkled with a few science-orientated talks as well.\u00a0 Several stand out, such as the presentation by Dr Ian Chapman on the links between Jules Verne\u2019s From the Earth to the Moon<\/em> with David Bowie\u2019s Space Oddity<\/em> \u2013 including a live band!<\/a>; Lyndon Fraser\u2019s swirling PowerPoint while discussing women\u2019s wills in Victorian Canterbury; and Lyall Hanton\u2019s physically animated talk on Joseph Mellor\u2019s 16 million words on the Periodic Table.\u00a0 But the organisers were gratified at the high quality of all the panel presentations.<\/p>\n

The conference highlights, of course, were the keynotes.\u00a0 On Thursday evening, people braved a dismal night to listen to Helen Pearson, editor of Nature<\/em>, a journal that shares a 150th birthday with the university.\u00a0 Helen gave a wonderful talk on the past, present and future of this illustrious journal, noted not just for its academic papers but the science reporting and commentary. \u00a0\u00a0The \u201cpast\u201d incorporated some of the journal\u2019s many key publications, such as Francis Crick and James Watson\u2019s groundbreaking paper on DNA in 1929, as well as a notable failure, an account on cold fusion.\u00a0 Helen also discussed Nature<\/em>\u2019s current situation, and how that may change with the growing demand for open-access publications.<\/p>\n

Marian Thain, of Kings College London, was unable to make it to Dunedin for the conference, but nevertheless presented on\u201cCosmopolitanism, Nationalism and the Politics of Parnassian Poetry (1860s-1880s)\u201d on Friday. An exploration of how English poets adapted the ballade<\/em>, a French poetry genre, the talk discussed how the Parnassian poets\u2019 efforts spawned tensions between those who favoured a more international outlook and those who advocated for more British forms of verse. Marion pre-recorded her video presentation, and invited questions via Twitter both during and after its viewing, which worked really successfully.\u00a0 Indeed, the conference goers included a number of enthusiastic tweeps, with the conference at one point trending up to 5th place in New Zealand\u2019s Twitter rankings.\u00a0 See #otago1869 and #avsa2019.<\/p>\n

Conference goers were treated on Friday evening to a bus trip up to the historic Larnarch\u2019s Castle atop the Otago Peninsula.\u00a0\u00a0 On arrival, just before dusk, the swirl of bagpipes<\/a> greeted us as we alighted the buses<\/a> and entered the castle. \u00a0\u00a0After newcomers had undertaken a tour of the building and we had all had the opportunity to wet the whistle, we all entered into the banquet hall for a marvellous feast.\u00a0 The \u201centertainment\u201d for the evening was Professor Liam McIlvanney, who gave a wonderful speech arguing that Rev Thomas Burns, the nephew of the great poet, the first clergyman of Dunedin\u2019s Free Kirk settlement, and first Chancellor of the University, was perhaps not the \u201ccensorious old bigot\u201d that secularist historians have labelled him.<\/p>\n

Tilly Boleyn, the Curator of Science Gallery Melbourne, was our final keynote to round off the conference.\u00a0 Tilly discussed how hard it was to entice young people (18-25 year olds) into science museums, which are seen as boring and irrelevant.\u00a0 The answer has been to establish \u201cscience galleries\u201d, and international network tied to local universities, but whose \u201cdisplays\u201d are about engaging the public with science and art.\u00a0 Melbourne\u2019s science gallery opens next year, but in the meantime they have run a number of \u201cpop-ups\u201d to prepare the ground.\u00a0 An important feature of this new style of institution has been to allow young people themselves to decide what will be presented, and to employ young people to \u201cmoderate\u201d the exhibits with the gallery visitors.\u00a0 This new methodology means curators giving up power, which Tilly states, is both challenging and rewarding.<\/p>\n

At the final wrap-up, the AVSA president Mandy Treagus announced that the next AVSA conference will be held in Melbourne at Monash University in June, 2020.<\/p>\n

And another viewpoint from the Women Historians Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The first evening. Kirby-Jane Hallum, Madeleine Seys, Catherine Smith, Lisa Chatfield and Tina Makereti.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sharon Dell, Anna Blackman, Judith Holloway, and Lynn Benson, from the Hocken Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Andre Brett, Frances Steel and Peter Clayworth.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chieko Ichikawa, Heidi Logan, Tracey Jones, Menglu Gao and Yi-Ching Teng<\/p><\/div>\n

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Richard Blaikie welcoming conference attendees.<\/p><\/div>\n

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I tae mai k\u0101 whanauka ki te tautoko i a Megan.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Keynote speaker, Megan Potiki.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, Anaru Eketone and Anna Carr.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hugh Morrison and Andrew Smith.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Food and conversations were an integral part of the conference.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Rebecca Rice, Kirby-Jane Hallum, and Kate Hannah.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tony Ballantyne and Jennie Henderson.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pamela Gerrish Nunn, Tracey Jones, Mandy Treagus and Madeleine Seys.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lyall Hanton, making a point.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rebecca Rice, Julia Bradshaw, Kirstine Moffat, Mark Houlahan and Charlotte Macdonald.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Keynote speaker, Helen Pearson.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Keynote speaker, Marion Thain.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Twitter was a valuable tool during the conference.<\/p><\/div>\n

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People thanking Marion for her talk. click on image to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Susan Irvine and Jeremy Moyle.<\/p><\/div>\n

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After dinner speaker, Liam McIlvanney.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Angela Wanhalla and Lachy Paterson.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Richard Blaikie and Kate Hannah.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Richard Jones, Liam McIlvanney and Mark Houlahan.<\/p><\/div>\n

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David Ellison and Menglu Gao.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Anna Clark, Susann Liebich and Lynn Benson.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Erica Newman, Judith Holloway and Craig McNab.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Mandy Treagus, Madeleine Seys, Julia Kuehn, Barbara Brookes, Elise Silson and Tracey Jones.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Justine Olsen, Susan Irvine, Sarah Gallagher and Christine Whybrew.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jane McCabe and Paulien Martens.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Paulien Martens and Violeta Gilabert.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Helen Pearson and Kirby-Jane Hallum.<\/p><\/div>\n

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A wonderful meal at Larnach’s Castle.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jonathon West, James Beattie and Matthew Schmidt.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Keynote speaker, Tilly Boleyn.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Big thanks to Bailey and Tania Brendel from Events Management for all their help.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Otago hosted a brilliant hybrid conference this week, the \u201c1869 Conference and Heritage Festival\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 By \u201chybrid\u201d I mean that it was the annual conference for the Australasian Victorian Studies Association, while also celebrating the University of Otago\u2019s 150th anniversary, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15374,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[69470,69444,45146,69436,40146,9690,17862,12254,69455],"class_list":["post-2114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conference","tag-150th","tag-1869-conference","tag-colonial-history","tag-heritage","tag-humanities","tag-museums","tag-otago","tag-science","tag-victorian-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/crocc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}