Dr Olwen Purdue is taking her work on the challenges and opportunities of doing public history in Northern Ireland to audiences in Washington DC and London.  Several weeks ago she spoke to a full audience at the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC, and next week will deliver a paper to the Institute for Historical Research in London in which she explores some of the challenges of engaging in Public History in a region where the prevailing historical narratives are contested at the most basic level. She asks to what extent public uses of the past plays a part in reinforcing divisions, but also examines some of the roles public history is playing in disrupting dominant narratives, opening up space for dialogue, and encouraging an exploration of pasts that unite rather than divide.

Click here for the IHR link