Please find below a variety of resources that allow you to explore further the themes of the exhibition.
Critical Conversations – panel discussions about the topics of empire, colonialism and collecting
The Curiosity Conversation – podcasts featuring guests such as Alberta Whittle and project partner Dr Emma Bond
Books – a selection on the themes of the exhibition chosen by Dr Emma Bond
Blogs – from the Museums team and community partners
Critical Conversations
Whose voices are missing from museums? Which stories are not told? Which uncomfortable histories remain hidden? And how can museums move forward? From empire and colonialism to climate, identity and more, Critical Conversations bring together voices from a variety of perspectives to consider the critical issues.
A number of Critical Conversations will be taking place live as part of the Re-collecting Empire events programme. Join live online to ask questions. Recordings will be uploaded to this page after the event.
Collecting
Featuring:
Dr Katie Eagleton, Director of Libraries and Museums at the University of St Andrews
Ananya Jain, former President of the University of St Andrews BAME Student Network
Natalie Hopkins, former President of the University of St Andrews History Society
and hosted by Dr Emma Bond, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews.
Stone Stele
Featuring
Ananya Jain, former President of the University of St Andrews BAME Student Network
Elikem Logan, Masters students at the University of St Andrews
Dr Anindya Raychaudhuri, School of English, University of St Andrews
and hosted by Dr Emma Bond, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews.
Legacies
Featuring
Erin Limak, student at the University of St Andrews with an interest in the hidden history of Dundee
Manhatten Murphy Brown, from the undergraduate Spence project, which looks at Fife’s connections to the slave trade
Dr Kate Cowcher, School of Art History, University of St Andrews
and hosted by Dr Emma Bond, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews.
The Chalmers Window
Featuring
Sahil Bhagat, student in Modern History at the University of St Andrews
Manhatten Murphy-Brown and Luke Simboli from the undergraduate Spence Project, which looks at Fife’s connections to the slave trade
Matt Sheard, former Learning and Access Curator at the Museums of the University of St Andrews
and hosted by Dr Emma Bond, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews.
The Mouth Ornament and Source Communities
Featuring
Dr Rowan Gard, social scientist
Sophie Lenihan, Musuems of the University of St Andrews
Ananya Jain, former President of the University of St Andrews BAME Student Network
and hosted by Dr Emma Bond, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews.
The Curiosity Conversation podcast
The Curiosity Conversation speaks with a different expert every month to explore the world through the unexpected, ground-breaking or contested aspects of the stories museums tell.
A number of special episodes of The Curiosity Conversation will be released during the run of the exhibition. See the events page for further details.
We need to talk about empire
with Dr Emma Bond
In this episode Matt and Eilidh talk to Dr Emma Bond, Reader in Italian and Comparative Literature in the School of Modern Languages at the University of St Andrews.
Emma works on the circulation of people, texts, objects and cultural artefacts across nations, touching on issues of colonialism, empire, slavery and migration. She is working with the Museums of the University of St Andrews on a project called Recollecting Empire, which explores how colonial presences in museum collections can be re-interpreted with input from communities, and how this approach can be embedded in the Museums’ work and processes rather than being a short term focus.
They discuss Emma’s research, the signs of empire to look out for in everyday life, the role of museums in perpetuating marginalisation and ways in which we can change the narrative.
Listen on Anchor.
Art, Empire and Legacy
with Alberta Whittle
In this episode Eilidh and Matt talk to renowned artist Alberta Whittle, who will represent Scotland at the 2022 Venice Biennale. Alberta’s work explores the legacy of colonialsm, and they will discuss working with communities to create new narratives about empire.
Listen on Anchor.
We still need to talk about empire
with Dr Emma Bond
In this episode Matt and Eilidh again talk to Dr Emma Bond, Reader in Italian and Comparative Literature in the School of Modern Languages at the University of St Andrews.
They discuss the ways that Re-collecting Empire explores how colonial presences in museum collections can be re-interpreted with input from communities, and how this approach can be embedded in the Museums’ work and processes rather than being a short term focus. They explore their learning through developing the exhibition, the approaches taken, what might be missing and what visitors can expect when they visit.
Listen on Anchor.
Books
A wide variety of books have been recommended by Dr Emma Bond, project partner on Re-collecting Empire. All the books can be purchased in the Wardlaw Museum shop.
Empireland: How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sangera
£9.99
“In his brilliantly illuminating new book Sathnam Sanghera demonstrates how so much of what we consider to be modern Britain is actually rooted in our imperial past. In prose that is, at once, both clear-eyed and full of acerbic wit, Sanghera shows how our past is everywhere: from how we live to how we think, from the foundation of the NHS to the nature of our racism, from our distrust of intellectuals in public life to the exceptionalism that imbued the campaign for Brexit and the government’s early response to the Covid crisis. And yet empire is a subject weirdly hidden from view.”
New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule by Kehinde Andrews
£10.99
“The New Age of Empire takes us back to the beginning of the European Empires, outlining the deliberate terror and suffering wrought during every stage of the expansion, and destroys the self-congratulatory myth that the West was founded on the three great revolutions of science, industry and politics. Instead, genocide, slavery and colonialism are the key foundation stones upon which the West was built, and we are still living under this system today: America is now at the helm, perpetuating global inequality through business, government, and institutions like the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO.
Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga
£12.99
“In this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean.
Drawing on new genealogical research, original records, and expert testimony, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan ‘blackamoors’ and the global slave-trading empire. It shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery, and that black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both World Wars. Black British history is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation. It is not a singular history, but one that belongs to us all.
Unflinching, confronting taboos and revealing hitherto unknown scandals, Olusoga describes how the lives of black and white Britons have been entwined for centuries.”
Natives, Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
£8.99
“From the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers – race and class have shaped Akala’s life and outlook. In this unique book he takes his own experiences and widens them out to look at the social, historical and political factors that have left us where we are today.
Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Nativesspeaks directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the legacy of Britain’s racialised empire.
Natives is the searing modern polemic and Sunday Times bestseller from the BAFTA and MOBO award-winning musician and political commentator, Akala.”
Freedom Bound: Escaping Slavery in Scotland by Warren Pleece
£19.99
“Warren Pleece’s graphic novel, Freedom Bound, follows the interconnected stories of three enslaved people living in Scotland before Scots Law proved slavery illegal. From mountainous countryside to the inner city, Freedom Bound explores Scotland’s unsettling history of slavery and the injustices perpetrated through the decades.”
Blogs
Why are we Re-collecting Empire? by Dr Katie Eagleton, Director of Libraries and Museums at the University of St Andrews