Activating the archive: hidden histories

Join the Activating the Archive team on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 July in Oxford for a series of special events exploring: How are colonial practices of the past still affecting sustainability in the present?

Drop in at the Museum of Natural History Lawn, Oxford on Friday 22 July, 11am - 2pm for object handling of some of the Pitt Rivers Museums collections, family friendly activities and more.

Join us at the Oxford City Farm on Saturday 23 July, 10am -11.30am for a workshop to explore this pressing question in interactive ways, getting to the heart of research currently taking place across Africa and the UK. All ages welcome, there’ll be activities suitable for all.

Free but booking essential.

Book tickets

 Join researcher, activists and community partners at Oxford City Farm as we think through some of the following questions using museum objects, talks and interactive activities (refreshments provided, parking for those with access needs only):

• There are so many climate change issues facing the world today. How did colonialism play a role in this?
• What sort of crops were growing in East Africa in the colonial period (1890s-1940s)? What crops were growing in Britain in during the colonial period (1890s-1940s)? Did people all over the world drink coffee in 1890s?
• How did colonial policies change the way people grazed livestock and farmed their land, and what land they had access to?
• What do the Pitt Rivers Museum archives tell us about how people in East Africa grew crops, used plants to make fishing traps and boats?
• How can we work together to create more sustainable futures, learning from the past?

The research team and community partners would love to bring their work to Oxford audiences (and beyond!) and hear from new people about their ideas of sustainability in the present and possibilities for the future.

Activating the Archive is an AHRC / NERC project funded by a grant of £125,000 as part of the Hidden histories of environmental science: Acknowledging legacies of race, social injustice and exclusion to inform the future scheme.

Principal Investigator: Dr Ashley Coutu (Pitt Rivers Museum)

Co-Investigator: Dr Tabitha Kabora (University of York)

Find out more about Activating the Archive