What is the project?
The Public History Project is a culmination of all that I have learnt throughout my Public History MA, combined with my existing historical interests. These interests have been developed according to analysis, research, collaboration and communication skills.
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As my project is rather ambitious in scope (to document the cultural reproductions of hedonistic themes within elite societies!), I have narrowed it down to two societies which are comparable in their hedonistic tendencies. This does not mean that only the societies I have chosen culturally reproduce hedonistic behaviours, but it assists in setting parameters to my work.
OKAY, SO WHAT NEXT?
This webpage will cover: academics, aims and outputs.
The academic bit:
This research topic uses the comparative method to demonstrate the need for hedonism to be considered in a new light within history. It goes further by pushing academics to think about ‘hedonistic histories’ as a historical theory, and not a frivolous or unnecessary topic. It links to cultural theories on cultural reproduction and sociologist theories on civilisation and taste. However, it combines these theories to reveal a trend across periods and societies.
The second blog post from the Hooked on Hedonism blog explains further the academic ambitions, and outputs, for this project. Find it linked here.
What are the aims?
- To create a public event
- To engage with an online audience in relation to the research and event
- To undertake research which proves that new theoretical considerations are needed
- To capture the publics interest in this research
What are the outputs?
Hedonistic Histories is a multifaceted project which has multiple outputs. The primary output is the pilot event, ‘Taxidermy & Tipples’. You can find out more about this on the event page.
The other outputs which have been produced are:
- this website (which incorporates a resource page and blog)
- the social media (@hedonistic.histories Instagram)
- a brochure of future events for the Hedonistic Histories series
The report and reflections present evidence and evaluations on the success of these outputs .