The self and the shoes: fashionable curiosities and identity

This paper is concerned with an aspect of the material culture of fashion, which also happens to be a personal passion. It focuses on shoes, although I am here looking at a very specific category of women shoes: the extreme, ‘impossible-to-wear shoes’. The ‘impossible-to-wear’ is an arbitrary term, which aims to emphasise their unusual design that does not allow us to slot them into an ‘adequate system of classification’ (Baudrillard, 2005: 1). There have been extensive studies on the ways in which clothes and accessories (including shoes) are used to socially represent and empower (or not) women. Furthermore, although the fashion phenomenon of the extreme shoes is not new, it is only in the recent years that they have become more popular both in the high fashion and social scene. This has opened up the opportunity to understand further the postmodern discourse, which tends to simulate and exasperate the values and principles of beauty, power and status. Throughout the paper, I intend to define the ‘impossible-to-wear’ shoes and consider the visual statements, if any, made through them, about contemporary society, women, their identity and their femininity. I will argue that the extreme shoes are the products of the society of the spectacle and as such are very seductive and challenging objects: they are contemporary curiosities, which consent the shift between the ordinary and the extraordinary and therefore allow women to step into a visually playful (but not necessarily empowering) fantasy-world

Owning memories: a tale of two cities

In 1894 Queen Victoria opened the Salford Docks, now known as Salford Quays, home of MediaCityUK. At the time, Salford Docks were considered a masterpiece of engineering, allowing Manchester to circumvent the route through Liverpool and have access to international trade. The area was an ambitious hub for commerce, industrial activity and job prospects. Although more than 100 years have passed, Salford Quays is again under the spotlight and has the ambition to be a contemporary contender in the cultural industries market – this time focussing, through MediacityUK, on moving the media industry away from London. In order to attract such a prestigious focus, the developers have responded by building waterside apartments, luxury housing and speedy infrastructure and by promoting a successful professional lifestyle, with cultural and cutting-edge designer events. However, the local community seems to be more than ever alienated from this process, the sense of cultural collective memory being diluted. Throughout this paper, we are considering issues relating both to the historical significance of Salford Quays as well as to its cultural legacy within the local community. In order to do so, we are addressing the following research questions: How can the past be brought to into the present to support a sense of identity cohesion? Can Salford shake off the image of a derelict area and become the innovative creative quarter, through the (living) memories of its community? We will argue that the re- invention of Salford Quays as a new cutting-edge creative quarter happens at the expense of the historical memory of the place. In this way, local people and local memories do not become an integral part of the regeneration strategy, but are almost erased from the whole process

Heritage, identity and refugees in the 21st century Europe

Migration, as a cultural and historical phenomenon, has at its heart collective and individual encounters between new comers and local communities. These encounters translate into new stories, materialities and visual discourses. In the longer term, these elements all contribute to the formation of a new heritage (both tangible and intangible). However, amongst forced migrants (and more specifically refugees, the focus of this article) heritage needs to die, before being recreated, redefined and embedded into new shared cultural practices. Pivotal to this process is cultural memory, which, in the first instance, forced migrants are excluded from and then are required to assimilate. This determine a rupture with and loss, albeit temporal, of their own cultural memories and hence of their heritage. This paper explore the process of memory recollection which allows the recreation and the redefinition of heritage, once the healing process of resettling has started. I argue that cultural groups, including the ones of new comers, are able to redefine and reinvent their heritage (primarily intangible) only once different modes of remembering are initiated on the basis of individual memories

Heritage at risk of flooding, tourism and resilient communities: the case of Ayutthaya, Thailand

Flooding is a natural phenomenon, although, a major hazard. During the past decades we have witnessed some of the most severe floodings, which have had damaging impacts on local communities, natural landscapes and cultural heritage sites and, as a consequence, also on the local tourism industry. Thailand is not new to flooding: the country, indeed, has always suffered from regular flooding and local communities have learnt to co-exist with the phenomenon and even to celebrate their relationship with water. However, due to the rampant urbanisation and climate change, flooding in Thailand is now becoming unpredictable and extremely dangerous, and the need for more targeted preventive and mitigating strategies is imperative. This paper aims to explore the ways in which heritage sites, in Thailand - affected by natural disasters- are perceived by tourists as well as the different ettects recent flooding has had on local heritage sites, tourism experiences and communities in Thailand

Water & Heritage: material, conceptual and spiritual connections [edited by Willem J. H. Willems & Henk P. J. van Schaik, Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2015]

This is an academic review of the edited book 'Water & Heritage: material and spiritual connections'. 978-90-8890-278-

Engaging young audiences before, during and after lockdown

This article focuses on two heritage sites in the East Midlands (the International Bomber Command Centre and Creswell Crags) and the impact that COVID19 has had on these institutions and in regards to their audiences. In specific we focus on under-12s, who often constitute a significant but hard to reach visitor group. in this piece we are considering the following questions: with physical sites inaccessible and little time to prepare, how have heritage sites reached out to youthful audiences, and what have they learned about rebuilding activities to engage them

Faecal corticosterone metabolite assessment in socially housed male and female wistar rats

Knowledge of animals’ hormonal status is important for conservation studies in wild or semi-free-ranging conditions as well as for behavioural and clinical experiments conducted in laboratory research, mostly performed on rats and mice. Faecal sampling is a useful non-invasive method to obtain steroid hormone assessments. Nevertheless, in laboratory studies, unlike other contexts, faecal sampling is less utilised. One of the issues raised is the necessity to collect samples belonging to different animals, separately. Usually, researchers using faecal sampling solve this problem through the isolation of animals or taking the cage rather than single animal as unit of study. These solutions though, could lead to unreliable measurements, and cannot be applied in many studies. Our aim was to show the biological reliability of individual faecal corticosterone metabolite (FCM) assessments in socially housed male and female Wistar rats. We analytically validated the enzyme immunoassay kit used for FCM assessments. Then, we exposed the animals to two different stress stimuli that are known to activate the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and the following release of corticosterone to biologically validate the EIA kit: environmental enrichment and predator odour. Individual faecal sampling from social animals was collected through short-time handling. The results demonstrated that both the stimuli increased FCM levels in male and female rats showing the reliability of EIA kit assessment and the applicability of our sampling method. We also found a diurnal rhythm in FCM levels. These results could help to increase the use of faecal hormone metabolite determinations in studies conducted on rats

The Royle Collection: Who do we think we are?

This workshop anticipates the birth of a project. In a joint collaboration between MMU and University of Lincoln, Who do we think we are? is a project which seeks to explore the very work of archiving. We will use materials from the Royle Collection, (Arthur Royle, Wythenshawe, Manchester). Arthur Royle was a pioneer recorder of Wythenshawe local history and heritage and amassed and created items of historical importance over 60 years which includes maps, letters, receipts, photographs, sketches, and prints. He also recorded local dialects and pronunciations. He was emblematic of public service and duty. The collection is, as yet, unarchived, and there is a unique opportunity to explore what an archive might do beyond the traditional modes of identifying and classifying. We aim to contribute to the co-design, and co-production methodologies and processes conference theme. Our workshop seeks to open up what it might mean to actively archive materials in and with those who come into relation with it. In actively exploring connections between disparate objects, systems and processes we also seek to question how histories and cultures are produced, recorded, lived and enacted. To ask questions of the relation between an archive and its audience is also to invite diverse groups and people into a conversation about universal meaning making and particularities. This workshop will present some materials from the archive and explore the ways in which they may be used, interpreted and worked with, to house and harbor meaning

Cities' Identity Through Architecture and Art

Intended to be a guide for academics, scholars, and interested leaders, this book was designed to critically assess issues related to architectural identity, the city as a scene, the city as an organism, the city as a subject, and the planning or rather approaching of one. A pressing issue for many researchers in the field, the book discusses the negative repercussions resulting from globalization. Studies have indicated that globalization, despite all the positive effects, has resulted in a loss of identity within a city. As a city develops over time, its identity is evolving as well and may even be lost due to rapid and constant changes it is subjected to. Discussed as well are examples and tendencies in dealing with urban identities as well as the transformation of cities and urban cultures mentioned in terms of form, identity, and art. This book is a combination of innovative research submitted to a conference on Cities’ Identity Through Architecture and Arts (CITAA) whereas scholars from all over the world gather in one venue to discuss cultural, historical, and economic issues of the city. Thus, the book offers a collective and global solution that is applicable on a universal level. The research presented in this book was conducted by authors, or rather participants of the conference from, three different continents of the world and organized by IEREK. It was a distinct opportunity for them to share their thoughts with leading scholars and professionals in the field of Architecture, Arts, and Planning. The research and materials in this book are directed at those who are actively engaged in the decision-making processes and to a heterogeneous audience who has an interest to critically examine all the new literature available in the field. A special word of thanks should be made to the editors of this book and to all the authors and co-authors of the chapters who collectively provided the academic community with unique and increasingly valuable literature