- DURATION 60 mins
Event Description
In 2020, statues across the world were pulled down in a wave of global iconoclasm. Statues are a visible but controversial form of historical storytelling. History is written by the victorious, but who is writing social history? People have become more intrigued with finding out about ancestors, especially with the promise of finding out ‘where we’re from’ offered by direct-to-consumer DMA testing companies. Our ancestors shaped our story and our DNA, and we can ‘easily’ record a few generations back with national Census information. But we are not just interested in information gleaned from birth, marriage and death certificates, we want to know how our ancestors lived on a day-to-day basis. We therefore need to construct our ancestors’ narratives. These ‘micro histories’ become ‘ours’ and becomes ‘true.’ Oral histories integrate memory and but are these recollections of the past actually real, factual and truthful. Additionally, are family historians manipulating the past with seamless and often romanticised narratives of people’s lives? Do they gloss over things, not investigate specific ancestors, and favour others? If they do so, are they engaging in a form of subtle iconoclasm? How do they deal with unsavoury people in their family tree? Many people want to find out ‘the truth’. The truth will set you free - but not until it is finished with you.
- Duration: 60 mins
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Meet the Host, Dr Penny Walters
Dr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 35 years, currently teaching Masters’ Business studies at Bath Spa University, England, and previously Psychology and Ethics. Penny's interest in genealogy started after having her first baby and then wondering about her biological parents, as she was adopted. Penny has six mixed race children, who have all enjoyed discovering their roots through DNA ethnicity results. Penny lectures internationally in-person, writes articles, and is sought after for a wide range of webinar topics. Penny has authored the books: 'Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy' (2019) and ‘The Psychology of Searching’ (2020), available on Amazon in paperback or on kindle www.searchmypast.co.uk
Preparing for the Event
For the best experience, you will need to have Zoom downloaded onto your computer. Please ensure you're connected to broadband/wifi rather than using your mobile phone connection (3G/4G).
We also recommend that pets are either calmly sitting on your lap or in another room, and any refreshments you may require are within your reach!
Resources
Damnatio memoriae - condemnation of a person’s memory has supplementary learning materials provided by the event host. Once you book an event, you will get access to these resources.
More Information
What if I can’t make the event?
If a recording’s available for the event, you can still register for it and we will send you an email with a link to a recording shortly after it ends.
Will my camera be on and will I be visible to the other people?
Your camera and microphone does not need to be on for you to enjoy the event. The choice about whether to do this is completely yours.
How do I watch the live event?
Rest Less events are hosted on Zoom, a computer application that allows you to attend online events just by clicking a link. For detailed instructions, please go to our "FAQ" page, which you can find a link to in the nav bar at the top of the page.
How do I sign-up for and access the recording? (Recorded events only)
Book the event as normal (as if you are attending live). After the event ends you will automatically receive a post-event email with a link to the recording, as long as the event was recorded. You do not need to do anything else and there is no separate booking process for recordings only. Please note it can take up to 24 hours for Zoom to process recordings.