A university in Birmingham will explore the past by showcasing materials from its archives in a new exhibition.
Preserving the Histories of a Community of Makers will launch on 24th November.
The Aston University archives house materials relating to the history of the educational site as well as its predecessor institutions – the Birmingham Municipal Technical School (1895 to 1927) and the Birmingham Central Technical College (1927 to 1951).
Items on display will include records of previous students, courses and fees from as far back as the 19th Century, records from the First World War period, with details about occupations, classes attended, and their marks as well as maps detailing the evolution of the institution and Birmingham as a city.
Dr Ilaria Scaglia, senior lecturer in modern history at Aston University, said: “Conserving and making these documents available allows our own history students as well as the members of the broader academic and non-academic communities to tell previously untold stories.
“The history programme is planning to lead its students to analyse these records through both traditional and digital methods. This is useful training for a variety of professions and also a way to offer a hands-on, engaging approach to history.
“These records are not only about individual institutions but they are also about the people who made them and were influenced by them; they are a window onto the times in which they lived. Because Birmingham has long been a diverse and global city, these records, peoples, and histories are global.
“History provides a key to understand past and present as well as indispensable insights to shape the future. These records document that past.”
The wider collection includes documents which shed light on education, politics, economics, society and culture and chronicle the development of a variety of trades and professions, with the potential to enrich both local and global narratives.
They also include newspapers, brochures and records of the popular music acts which performed in the Great Hall, together with videos and slides of the campus as it has been built up as well as campus maps through the decades.
The exhibition will be launched after introductory lectures from Aston University staff. To book a place for this free event, click here.
