Time Travel method and Applied heritage, Academic course in Kalmar

In September an academic seminar on the Time travel method was held in Kalmar. The participants described it as unique and valuable, challenged my thinking, challenged my understanding

Several persons within the Bridging Ages network are connected to research studies at a university with a perspective on the Time Travel method and Applied Heritage. It is within the disciplines of archaeology, science education, museum education, tourism, archaeology, social cohesion. This comes at the time when the Time Travel method seems to be spreading to more people and more institutions. So the need for an academic course has been identified with the goal being to bring together those people in the Bridging Ages group who are connected to the ongoing research.

Participants and content

The academic course was held in Kalmar in a partnership between Kalmar County Museum and Linnaeus University. The coordinator was Ebbe Westergren. Fifteen participants/ researchers from seven countries (South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Brazil, Serbia, Latvia, USA) participated.
The course included six full days of lectures, workshops, a Time Travel event, many discussions and an excursion to heritage and Time Travel sites. The lectures were held by professors and lecturers from Linnaeus University, on such topics as: The use of heritage in today’s society; The Time Travel method, theory and practice; Ethics and moral dimensions in Time Travels; Heritage futures; Mathematics and Time Travels, Learning, knowledge, education and curriculum, Heritage tourism. Each participant presented a short paper at the end of the course, detailing how the course affected and inspired their own research.

Time Travel Event

The second day began with a Time Travel to the future, year 2069, which was a first experience for most participants. The scenario was based on the declining of the Kalmar Society’s wellbeing. This decline comes with the impact of Global Warming and Climate Crisis, loneliness, religion, family values and more. The aim was for this community to take lessons from outside experts and global people. During the reflection session, it appeared that change is not easy, people will still be holding on to what they think defines them, regardless of the predicaments they face at that point. Therefore, the question that I personally asked myself after that Time Travel was: how do we prepare ourselves for the future, how do we transition, will it be smooth or coupled with bumpy rides? I guess, with every Time Travel, questions should be raised, even long after the Time Travel has taken place… it must trigger questions, so that it fulfils its purpose.

Aspirations from the participants

The participants came from very diverse backgrounds. And all participants engaged with great enthusiasm.
Brazil-Tiago, from Brazil, a research fellow at Linnaeus University, Kalmar, spoke about how the Time Travel Method would be a relevant tool for his archaeological work with former Rubber Tappers in Brazil.
South Africa- Four participants from South Africa, spoke with one voice regarding the poorly implemented policies, and they all wished to somehow use the Time Travel Method in influencing policy, either in Education with matters regarding the curriculum, teacher training, and/or in heritage matters.
Turkey- Was represented by three participants, their aspirations evolved around two issues, the incorporation of the Time Travel Method and Applied Heritage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education and Environment Preservation. Mathematics was brought up as one of the key interest areas of focus.
Latvia- The focus from Agrita was mainly on the work of the museum. Her aspirations were driven by what she would like to see her museum doing to demystify the myth that museums have a traditional role in society, that of preservation of artefacts.

Way Forward:

Many ideas came up to stay connected and develop partnerships and ideas for the future:

• Form an academic committee within Bridging Ages with people interested in research of Applied Heritage and Time Travels.
• Devise a platform to communicate, update each other about our research findings, international conferences, funding opportunities.
• Create academic publications on the Time Travel method, a possible journal with collaborative articles. Pair together practitioners and academics.
• Develop joint projects.
• Have an academic session at the Bridging Ages event in Turkey next year.
• Organise another course on academic research on Time Travels

Thandeka Sibiya, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary

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Last updated: 2019-12-13 13:15:55