To view the slide presentations and handouts associated with each lecture, click here.
This blog has been designed to accompany Exploring Local History, the series of lectures taking place at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) between September and April 2011-12. Jointly organised with the Open University in Ireland (OUI), these lectures are designed to introduce people to the study of local history and to explore the wide variety of documents they might find useful if starting their own local history project.
The lectures will be delivered by historians working for the Open University who teach on the OUs MA in Local and Regional History programme. Dr Janice Holmes, Dr Olwen Purdue and Dr Barry Sheehan will examine some of the major themes in local history and the sources available for their study. These themes include poverty, the family, urban history, industrialisation, crime and policing and religion.
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said: “I am pleased to announce the launch of this joint lecture series between PRONI and the Open University. In particular my Department supports the organisers’ aim of tailoring the series towards those members of the community who may never have had the opportunity to benefit from a Third Level Education. Local history is very much part and parcel of who we all are, and I encourage anyone with an interest to come along and participate.”
The series will take place in the Lecture Theatre in PRONI’s brand new, state-of-the-art, headquarters in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. The lectures are free of charge (although booking is essential). Lectures take place on the last Thursday of every month (excluding December) until April 2012, and start at 6.30pm.
The topics of each lecture are:
- 29th September 2011: What is Irish Local History?
- 27th October 2011: Poverty
- 24th November 2011: Industrialisation
- 26th January 2012: Crime
- 23rd February 2012: Religion
- 29th March 2012: Urban History
- 26th April 2012: Families
For more information visit at www.proni.gov.uk or call 028 90 534800. Bookings for the lecture series can be made by sending an email to proni@dcalni.gov.uk