The Public Lives of Objects

(February 10-21, 2020)

When do objects become endowed with meaning and agents in their own right? The inaugural edition of the Winter School in Public History, on the theme 'The Public Lives of Objects', looks at the history and material culture of objects and the functions they come to be associated with when bestowed with agency and meaning in the public sphere. The representation and interpretation of objects change as actors construct and use them and also when there is a transition in the cultural context. The same object may show this in various ways. Through masterclasses, lectures, participant presentations, museum visits and public talks in the two weeks of the Winter School, we intend to initiate a discussion around the construction and understanding of meaning of objects in their social and public lives. This year, the Center for Public History is partnering with the Archives at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). The Archives was formerly the offices of Obaid Siddiqi, the co-founder of NCBS and it now houses institutional records and is a centre for the contemporary history of biology in India. The Archives is free and the two reading rooms are open to the public.

Faculty:

Dr. Klaus Staubermann:
Klaus Staubermann is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Council of Museums, Germany. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Lisa Onaga:
Lisa Onaga is a Senior Research Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. She holds a PhD from Cornell University.

Dr. Annapurna Mamidipudi:
Annapurna Mamidipudi is a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. She holds a PhD from the University of Maastricht.

Dr. Roland Wittje
Roland Wittje is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He holds a PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

Sarita Sundar:
Sarita Sundar is the founder of Hanno, a heritage interpretation and design consultancy in Bengaluru. She holds an MA from the University of Leicester.

Swarup Bhattacharyya:
Swarup Bhattacharyya is the Curator of the Maulana Azad Museum at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute for Asian Studies in Kolkata. He holds an MSc from the University of Calcutta. 

Dr. Indira Chowdhury:
Indira Chowdhury is the Director of the Center for Public History at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru. She holds a PhD from the University of London.

Siddhi Bhandari:
Siddhi Bhandari is on the faculty of the Center for Public History at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru. She finished a PhD from the University of Delhi.

Dr. Srijan Sandip Mandal:
Srijan Sandip Mandal is on the faculty of the Center for Public History at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru. He holds a PhD from the University of Hyderabad.

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