What’s in a name? Choosing Voces Historiae was more than just an attempt to prove that my MA had taught me – if nothing else – how to form the genitive case. Likewise, the use of Latin wasn’t just a cheap attempt to invoke scholarly seriousness (though that was a large part of it).
Clearly, it is an allusion to Vox Populi – the voice of the people – an adage that lives on perhaps most famously (notoriously?) in the phrase ‘vox pop’. This allusion comes with a couple of changes (equally clearly) to result in two words which, I strongly believe, get to the root of what is important and interesting about the worlds of heritage and history, and the articulation of these spheres.
First, not Vox but Voces. As much as it pains me, with half a degree in Political Science, to say, a dangerous trend is that of the grand theory and of homogenisation. The people do not have a ‘voice’. They have a diverse range of voices, of opinions, of ideas. Likewise, the past is not a uniform monolith, and nor are those who constituted it. There are countless voices of history, both those who lived it and those who tell it. Diversity is to be embraced, and an aim of this site is to provide a platform for these voices. Different opinions, methodologies, approaches, conclusions, eras, areas… communicating these is (or should) be the nub of historiography and heritage.
Etymology is a pet habit of mine, and even a cursory look at the word historia (our history) indicates what I feel is central to the past and its articulation – stories. Our words ‘story’ and ‘history’ come from the same Latin word, which is highly indicative of our perception of the past. There is an inherent ambiguity in the word ‘history’. History, as popularly understood, is simultaneously the past and its study, both what happened and how it is relayed. Narratives are intrinsic to history and to heritage. We engage with the past because we, humanity, have a persistent need for stories. Escapism, entertainment and elucidation are all provided by narrative, whether such a narrative entails events which actually occurred or not.
Narrative is perhaps an overused term, but not yet one which has become completely abhorrent or devalued. I take it broadly as a set of events (connected by time, space or theme) and their articulation. A series of snapshots do not, by themselves, constitute narrativity – what it crucial is how they and their interrelatedness are communicated. It can encompass a range of phenomena, from intimately personal tales to the grand processes of interconnectivity and change. Fiction and historical prose are obvious vehicles of narrative, but heritage sites are also potent media. The Staffordshire Hoard exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, for instance, is an excellent example of how a set of objects, thoughtfully arranged with insightful, concise and engaging text, can powerfully reveal narratives of social phenomena and global trade. Heritage works most effectively when there is critical engagement with it, assessment of how ably it meets this narrative demand and connects with a wide audience.
Heritage and history are shared, dialectic, continual, dynamic processes which entail the past and engagement with it. This process should not be the preserve of books or esteemed academics – it is a collective possession. We all have a right, a duty, to engage with what has come before us.
The aim of Voces Historiae, therefore, is to provide a platform both for a range of historical topics and for those who love the area. If there’s a topic you’d love to expound on, a point about heritage you feel needs making, a place worthy of comment or a book that demands critique, then I’d love to hear from you and to feature your work on this site.
This can include essays, comment pieces and reviews of historical studies, historical fiction (in whatever medium), exhibitions and sites. I hope, in providing this platform, to allow another area in which history can be the reflexive subject that it ought to be.
Please visit the contact page for an email address, and follow the site’s associated Facebook and Twitter accounts for links to contributions, related news stories, and generally anything else that’s interesting in the world of history and heritage, as well as other ways to get in touch.
Finally, some points of full disclosure. My own areas of interest typically revolve around the medieval period, although like countless others I harbour a secret passion for the 19th Century Anti Corn Law League and the 20th Century Chancellor of Weimar Germany, Gustav Stesemann. I take what may, perhaps, most generously be called an amateur interest in heritage. I have an undergraduate and (almost) a graduate degree in History (so I like to think my writing is somewhat valid); I have no such qualification in Museum Studies or Heritage Management, nor have I been employed in a similar capacity, though I have volunteered in a range of heritage organisations. What I lack in more formal experience, I make up for in Views and Opinions (most definitely with the capital letters). What I write about heritage therefore comes not from an academically informed perspective, but from that of a keen member of the public. Which, as should be a clear theme, is frequently what history and heritage should entail.
Voces Historiae 