Log in
Alison Rowlands' research on witch-trials in Rothenburg ob der Tauber and its rural hinterland provides the first ever scholarly study of witch-trials in this territory. The findings of this research have challenged the stereotype of the witch as an old woman and have shown the motivations of witch-hunters to have been much more complicated than previously thought. This research has informed Rowlands' public engagement programme `What is a `Witch'?', which has corrected public misconceptions of the history of witchcraft, brought benefits to cultural institutions with which she has collaborated, and contributed to local and national Key Stage 2, 3, and A Level school teaching.
Moving Memories was a participatory research project which used BBC North West and other archive film footage to re-connect people of Caribbean, Sikh and Irish heritage in Moss Side and Hulme with the visual record of their settlement in Manchester from the 1950s to the 1980s. Local people enriched these visual histories with personal memories, interpreting, reflecting, linking across generations, and generating pride in their community's contribution to Manchester's broader historical narrative. The project is a model of exemplary practice for the applied use of archive material in BME contexts, demonstrating how shared story-telling challenges stereotypes of inner- city, multi-ethnic neighbourhoods and improves community cohesion.