Over the next few months, students from the University and Thomas Whitham 6th Form College in Burnley will be making podcasts – short videos that will be posted online – that will bring the papyri and mummy portraits to life for audiences beyond the Library.
In their podcasts, undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Classics and Religions departments at Manchester are going to explore how papyri from the exhibition, combined with ancient and modern visual art, shed light on ancient ‘identity issues’ such as religion, gender, wealth and poverty, ethnic diversity, and colonial power.
We will also be running a workshop with pupils from Thomas Whitham 6th Form College. The pupils will get to handle the papyri, discuss their relevance to the study of the modern and the ancient world and develop podcasts in which they will interview the resident experts.
Other plans include a live ‘Talking Points’ debate at the College involving pupils, academic and library staff, and student members of the Faces and Voices Project, an exhibition at the College’s Faith Centre in Burnley, and a virtual exhibition hosted on the Faces&Voices website.
Other workshops, including one with Fathi Hassan, will be launched in the Autumn.
First podcasting session next 11th June: stay tuned!
Roberta Mazza 