Queer Rural Lives: Love Letters and Farm Papers (with Tim Jerrome)
In our last episode, Tim Jerrome (now, University of Brighton; previously, The MERL) shared with Joe and Ollie how he's using The MERL archives to research queer lives and same-sex relationships in England's rural past.Today, Tim shares examples of the stories and relationships that he's been able to trace so far. We talk about the challenges of piecing together people's lives from fragmentary and coded evidence, the difficulties of applying categories to relationships that far predate modern terminology, and the issues of encountering problematic queer relationships and representing them for modern audiences.Please note this episode contains references to homophobia and problematic relationships. Listener discretion is advised.---Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
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Queer Rural Lives: Searching the Archives (with Tim Jerrome)
Queer histories of England have predominantly focused on the country's urban centres and cities - especially London. Yet queer and same-sex relationships have always existed throughout English life. Rural England is no exception.In the first of two podcasts, Joe and Ollie welcome onto Absolute Units former MERL colleague Tim Jerrome (University of Brighton), whose PhD explores the history of same-sex relationships in rural England.Learn about the challenges of finding queer histories in farm archives, the issues of archivist objectivity, and how museums can develop their practices to better surface and represent stories and relationships that were hidden in the past.Relevant links:Horseman's Word: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2021/03/horsemans-word-secret-society-horse-wizards/The Tractor Whisperers: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2021/04/tractor-whisperers/Queer Constellations: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/online-exhibitions/queer-constellations-histories-rural-gay-men/Queer Constellations (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxCUMyOGc9w---Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
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Rural Riots, Raves, and Robin Hood (with Katrina Navickas)
Throughout modern English history, people have protested against the movements to enclose and limit access to green spaces.Their reasons have varied dramatically – from deadly agricultural protests like the Swing Riots, to 90s raves, and druids campaigning for access to Stonehenge. Yet each moment of resistance gives us new insight into the complex and contested relationships we have with the world around us.In this episode, we continue our conversation with Katrina Navickas (Professor of History at the University of Hertfordshire) to explore the modern history of contesting the commons, ahead of the release of Katrina’s upcoming book, Contested Commons.Pre-order Contested Commons by Katrina Navickas: https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contested-commons--Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
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A Radical History of the Commons (with Katrina Navickas)
"The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common / But leaves the greater villain loose: who steals the common from the goose."In this episode, Joe and Ollie speak with Professor Katrina Navickas (University of Hertfordshire) about the history of the commons: the shared resources that communities depended upon for their livelihoods. Learn about the historical processes that encroached upon the commons, and the public resistance to get those resources back.Katrina's next book, Contested Commons: A History of Protest and Public Space in England, is published by Reaktion Books this autumn.Lantern Slides of the Open Spaces SocietyUntitled Goose Game---Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
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Flying Your Drone Through a Michelin-Starred Polytunnel (with Amy Bateman)
Modern farming is full of digital technology. Nobody knows this better than Amy Bateman, a prize-winning photographer and sheep farmer who uses digital tech in both lines of work (even using the same kit to take photos and to run the farm).In this episode, Joe and Ollie continue chatting with Amy about technology and diversification on modern farms: from tech's opportunities for developing farms and improving farmers' lives, to the risks and challenges that technology presents to rural communities.Links:Amy Bateman wins photography award for lamb photo: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cumbria-47091514360-degrees VR shepherding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-913nvaQMRU&feature=youtu.beForty Farms video: https://youtu.be/oOlzZWg58SY---Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe VaughanProducer: Joe Vaughan Shop MERL merch: https://merl-shop.co.uk/shop/absolute-unit.html Support the pod: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/donate/
The Museum of English Rural Life podcast. We're exploring the fascinating, surprising, and moving backstories of our collections, to tell the story of the English countryside.
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