News & Events
17th international SIEF Congress: "UNwriting" in Aberdeen
- Venue: University of Aberdeen in Scotland
- Start: Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:00:00 BST
- End: Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:00:00 BST
In June 2025, Federico Bossone, Susannah Eckersley, and Carla-Marinka Schorr attended the 17th annual SIEF conference in Aberdeen, titled "UNwriting", and each gave a presentation related to their respective ongoing research.
Federico Bossone: "Democracy is queer: democratic values in museums across Germany and the UK. An argument for queering museum narratives" (presented on Thursday, 5th June 2025)
This paper examines the intrinsic link between LGBTQ+ rights and democratic values, arguing that LGBTQ+ inclusion is foundational to democracy, not merely its outcome. Drawing on museum practices, it explores how queer narratives challenge heteronormative norms and counter anti-democratic movements.
Susannah Eckersley: "Unwriting - rewriting the museum amidst democratic crises" (presented on Wednesday, 4th June 2025)
This paper analyses the perspectives of museum professionals in the UK and Germany, reflecting on their work and on ‘museum activism’, which is challenged by the impact of contemporary democratic crises, drawing out the complications of the dynamic relationship between ideals and practices while unwriting/rewriting museums
Carla-Marinka Schorr: "Polyphonic contributions: empowering museum audiences through ethnographic methods" (presented on Friday 6th June 2025)
This paper shares examples of museum exhibitions in which visitors can use (auto-)ethnographic methods to engage with the exhibitions’ contents. By analyzing those examples, the effects on museums and the role of academics trained in working with those methods will be discussed.
