Organised by Francesca Antonelli (University of Bologna), Ximo Guillem-Llobat (IILP-University of Valencia) and Luz Narbona (IILP-University of Valencia)
This conference closes the series Archives, Research and Scientific Heritage: A View from the History of Science, which throughout the autumn of 2025 has reflected on the public and political uses of the past, asking how heritage and archives are mobilised in the present, which actors participate in these processes, and what tensions and possibilities emerge when the past becomes the subject of public debate.
While the previous seminars addressed these issues from a theoretical perspective, this conference focuses on case studies that explore the links between public history, archives and museums, paying attention to the memory exercises of different communities and organisations. How are narratives about the past constructed in museums, archives and other heritage spaces? How do these institutions present and interpret history in dialogue with the cities and communities that surround them? What role do archives and museums play in demands for restitution, justice and historical memory?
The conference, which brings together historians, archivists and museum and heritage professionals, will be held in person and online at the López Piñero Interuniversity Institute. On Wednesday 4th at 5pm, the opening lecture will be given by Jaume Sastre (Autonomous University of Barcelona); On Thursday 5th, there will be two thematic sessions dedicated to museums and archives respectively (9:00 am-1:30 pm), closing with the closing lecture by María Montenegro (University of California) (5:00 pm-7:00 pm). The presentations will be in Spanish, Catalan and Italian.
The conference will take place at the Palau Cerveró, headquarters of the IILP-UV, and can also be followed online at the following links:
Wednesday 4th February: Zoom Access code: 853959
Thursday 5th February: Zoom Access code: 887941
Programme
Wednesday, 4 February
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Opening Lecture
Jaume Sastre (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
“Building the Factory of Spain: Uses of the Industrial Past in Pre-Olympic Barcelona”
Thursday, 5 February
9:00–11:00 Public History and Museums
Anyely Marín (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
José María Candela (L’ETNO, Valencian Museum of Ethnology)
M. Ángeles Calabuig (Museu de la Paraula, Banyeres de Mariola)
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-13:30 Public History and Archives
Elena Musiani (Archivo delle donne, Bologna)
Sara De Giovanni (Centro di Documentazione Flavia Madaschi, Bologna)
Pablo Hernández (Former Director of l’Armari de la Memòria, Valencia)
1:45-4:45pm Lunch
5:00-7:00pm Closing lecture
María Montenegro (University of California)
‘When archives are not enough: Affection, evidence and anti-colonial temporalities in policies of recognition and territory’.
