Investigating industrial pasts and legacies from multi-and interdisciplinary perspective

The topic of multi- and interdisciplinary research has been gaining traction in recent years. Studies of industrial archaeology and heritage have long utilised interdisciplinary methods and perspectives, being concerned with various kinds of evidence of industrial processes and legacies, both material and immaterial. In this session we explore the place and value of multi- and inter disciplinary practices within studies of industrial pasts and legacies. In this, we acknowledge the growing interest in these topics within other disciplines, such as economic and oral history, sociology, geography, environmental humanities, photography and art, amongst others.We seek to examine the current conditions of knowledge production, how new bodies of knowledge and practice are being formed, the shifts of power, and how they change us. Some questions that we seek to address are: What relationships are currently being forged and why, and in what ways do different perspectives coalesce or clash, and why? Does it matter what we call ourselves? How are multi- and inter disciplinary approaches being incorporated, while maintaining communication with a ‘home’ discipline? Are there any anxieties over politics, disciplinary histories, identity, funding, career paths, acceptance, and recognition? What are perceived as typical and unconventional forms of practice?