Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx)

Engaging the study of culture and heritage through transmedia methods, sources, and platforms
CHEx

About Culture and Heritage Exchange

Formerly known as CHITCHAT, the Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx) is a knowledge exchange initiative which engages academic researchers, industry professionals, heritage stakeholders, and the general public in interdisciplinary conversations through transmedia methods, sources, and platforms. The study of culture and heritage (through the lens of the school’s diverse academic subjects) offers an important forum for the discussion of key influences and temporal trajectories that have helped shape the present. The initiative is proactive in disseminating its members’ research through its events such as public exhibitions, film showings and public seminars. The CHEx website also holds an archive of primary source data, such as oral history interviews, focus group discussions and witness seminar transcripts that have been collected during the course of the initiative’s research projects.

CHEx

Discover more about our research, projects and members

Witness Seminar 12 April 2018 - ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Policewomen’s Department
Chitchat photographs
Arts, culture and heritage theme within Campaign
 

Doing Time On...

Criminology podcast
This podcast series is a Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx) initiative that brings academic research in criminology to a public audience.
The podcast is hosted by Dr Katie McBride and Dr Iain Channing – criminologists who have both engaged in research helping to connect the past with the present – and produced by students.
Graphic created for criminology podcast Doing Time On...
 
 
 
 

Witness seminars

Witness seminars provide important accounts from people that go beyond the official record – they have become a way of recording personal accounts that would otherwise go unheard.
Here you can access some of the witness seminars created by CHEx and its predecessor, CHIT-CHAT.

The witness seminar idea started with an attempt to recover hidden histories in areas like contemporary politics and things like that, and that's when I became conscious of the way in which witness seminars are going to be an absolutely invaluable resource for the future.

Judith Rowbotham profile.jpg

Judith Rowbotham
Visiting Researcher and CHEx member

Dark tourism
In association with Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx) and funding from the ESRC, the dark tourism witness seminars addressed the popular demand for sensationalism and the response from tourism professionals and specialists. The discussion included contributions from Chris Wilkes (Bodmin Jail), Ruth Heholt (̽»¨ÊÓƵ), Alan Bricknell (Ford Park Cemetery) and business and tourism PhD candidates Andrew Fry and Alex Rowe (̽»¨ÊÓƵ) among others.
The discussion focused on a range of issues that included the challenges associated with dark tourism and its ethical presentation. The seminars also focused on tourism in the South West of England and a discussion of Cornwall’s spiritual connections, Bodmin Jail Museum’s recent renovations, and the effects of mainstream popular culture – such as the recent BBC adaptation of Winston Graham’s Poldark series – on tourism.

̽»¨ÊÓƵ City Policewomen's Department
This witness seminar was organised by the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ in association with the Institute for Contemporary British History, King’s College, London. This forms part of the #CHITCHAT? Witness seminar series and the transcription was subsequently organised by Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx).
This seminar captured the fascinating memories and stories of seven former policewomen who served in ̽»¨ÊÓƵ City Policewomen’s Department in the 1950s and 1960s. It covered themes relating to the uniforms issued, training received, relationships with the public, operational duties and work undertaken.

Policing everyday crime on the streets
Session 1 of Everyday Offending in Devonport Past and Present
This witness seminar was organised by the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ in association with the Institute for Contemporary British History, King’s College, London. The event was part of the Annual ESRC Research Festival in 2017 and was hosted by Real Ideas Organisation, Devonport. This transcription was subsequently organised by Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx).
This session of the Everyday Offending in Devonport Past and Present witness seminar had four panellists (two serving police officers and two retired police officers) and also featured contributions from the audience which comprised other serving and former police officers and local residents.

Community responses to everyday crime
Session 2 of Everyday Offending in Devonport Past and Present
This witness seminar was organised by the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ in association with the Institute for Contemporary British History, King’s College, London. The event was part of the Annual ESRC Research Festival in 2017 and was hosted by Real Ideas Organisation, Devonport. This transcription was subsequently organised by Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx).
This second session of the Everyday Offending in Devonport Past and Present witness seminar had panellists from Hamoaze House (a local charity that offers rehabilitation facilities for families affected by the problematic use of drugs and/or alcohol), Shekinah Mission (a local charity that provides opportunities for people who are experiencing all forms of homelessness and other challenges), Real Ideas Organisation (support for individuals and communities in finding solutions to social problems), the Salvation Army (an evangelical Christian church that helps support poverty and homelessness in the community), and the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre (holds collections and hosts interactive experiences related to the relationships in Devonport between the Royal Navy and the people).

Post-PACE: Police and policing in the South West
This witness seminar collected the experiences, anecdotes and memories of former and serving police officers and legal professionals to provide insights into the impact and effect of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 on local policing, police-community relations and policing practices in the South West of England.
 
 
 
 

Professor Judith Rowbotham, Visiting Researcher, on the Importance of Heritage

CHEx member, Professor Judith Rowbotham is a Visiting Researcher at the University and a Director of .
In this video Judith speaks about the value of heritage and the role it plays in underpinning individual, community and national identities.
She describes how the work of CHEx will show how crime has shaped heritage across ̽»¨ÊÓƵ and the South West of England and emphasises the importance that this understanding can play in developing our future.
 
 
 

New Journal: The Journal of Historical Criminology

The Journal of Historical Criminology (JHC) is the first and only academic journal exclusively dedicated to research and scholarship in the international field of historical criminology. It showcases top quality historical criminological research from around the world. The JHC is multidisciplinary, welcoming contributions drawn from criminology, history, law, sociology and other related disciplines. Peer-reviewed and open access, the journal combines a rigorous process of academic review with a strong commitment to making the findings of academic research available to all.