The Museum Education and Research Laboratory aims at organizing conferences, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions and other venues relevant to its basic targets.
During the last years, the Laboratory has organised or has contributed in the organisation of the following conferences and venues:
Conferences
The Education Directorate of Central Greece, the Institute of Educational Policy, the Laboratory of Museum Education and Research, University of Thessaly, Public History Master Program,Open University Greece, the University of Ioannina (Laboratory of the History of Modern Greek Education) co-organized the 1st Conference on Regional History and Education on: “Regional History and Education: developing an organic and effective relationship between them”.
The purpose of the Conference was to highlight local history as an excellent source of knowledge, able to expand the educational role of the school by creating a lasting and creative relationship between school knowledge and reality. Students’ involvement with local history contributes to the cultivation of skills and the redefinition of attitudes and values through experiential learning, exploration and play. These alternative pedagogical methods and actions serve as a guide for upgrading on the one hand the pedagogical function of school visits, which are an important and integral part of the educational process, and on the other hand the didactic approach of the course, which is treated through a fresher and more exploratory.
11/2019
ISPME Symposium XI brought together a diverse array of international philosophers, scholars, teachers, teacher educators, and creative practitioners interested in engaging in philosophical research concerning music education. The symposium seeked to encourage and stimulate discussion and debate on a wide range of topics relating to the philosophy of music education from international and interdisciplinary perspectives. During the course of the symposium more than fifty scholars from more than ten countries, gathered to debate and discuss their ideas on pressing contemporary issues pertaining to music education, adopting a wide variety of perspectives.
06/2017
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organization of the 2nd Inernational Oral History Conference that was organized by the Greek Oral History Association and the University of Athens, and which took place in Athens on 6-9 March 2014.
03/2014
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Bridging generations: interdisciplinarity and
life stories in the 21st century
Oral history and life history approaches in the
social sciences
UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY
Volos, 25-27 May 2012
Call for papers
The aim of this conference is to contribute to the creation of an interdisciplinary community of researchers working in the fields of oral history, memory studies and the biographical approach in the social sciences. Researchers from different disciplines use life stories to explore human lived experiences, the multiple interconnections between the individual and society, the ways in which subjectivities are constructed and determined by social and historical factors. Oral history and the biographical approach provide excellent tools to explore how social agents face abrupt social change and ruptures in their daily lives, related to political or economic crisis, (forced) migration, the deregularization of labour relations and the deconstruction of the welfare state.
In this conference we want to take stock of the developments in these fields in Greece over the last ten years and to link them to the theoretical and methodological debates going on elsewhere in the world. A central question which concerns us is whether the institutional recognition of oral history, as well as the “memory boom” of the 1990s and the use of digital media in mass communications have moved oral history away from its initial objectives: to contribute to a critical approach to social phenomena and to connect historical and social research with the communities we study (for a relevant debate, see http://www.iohanet.org/debate). In the period of crisis we are living through, this question acquires new meanings. With the participation of leading scholars in the field, the conference aims to create a space where old and new generations can meet and exchange their knowledge. The title of the conference “bridging generations” thus concerns both the narrative interview itself, where knowledge and meanings are transmitted from one generation to the next, and the encounter between two generations of researchers involved in biographical research. A second goal of the conference is to create a Greek Oral History Association as a new national section of the International Oral History Association.
With this perspective we invite you to take part in the conference and present a paper, focusing in particular on the peculiarities of oral evidence as a source of knowledge which can give new insights into our societies through the encounter of the subjectivity of our narrators with the collective processes of history and society.
We propose the following themes for the conference:
- Oral history and the community
Today our societies are characterized by extreme individualism, but at the same time new collectivities emerge which reclaim a voice in the public space. In this context, the notion of community acquires new meanings, very different from the old tradition of “community studies”. We are particularly interested in the following questions: a) how can individual narratives contribute to the formation of a sense of community? b) In which ways can oral history contribute to the empowerment of (local and globalised) communities to help them face the challenges of the present? c) What is the contribution of oral narratives in improving mutual understanding within divided or multi-cultural communities? d) How can we “give back” our research findings to the communities we study? e) How can local communities create their own narratives on the past, the present and the future?
- Oral history and digital media
The diffusion of digital technologies has brought radical changes not only in biographical research, but also in the media, in museums and in the “social media”. We would like to see, first of all, some good examples of how digital media can be used in providing access to oral narratives, for example in museum exhibitions and through the Internet. At the same time, however, we want to investigate this relation through questions such as: a) What are the new (national or global) power relations or forms of resistance that can be created through digital technologies? b) In which ways can digital technology contribute to an anthropology of the senses? What do we gain and what do we lose by adding image to sound? c) To what extent do media such as YouTube contribute to a new form of uncritical master narratives?
- Oral history in periods of crisis
This theme concerns on the one hand periods of crisis of the past (war, civil wars, natural disasters) and on the other the present economic crisis which affects all societies in the world, but especially Europe. Greece finds itself in the eye of the storm and has already changed radically after only two years of austerity measures. These experiences are emblematic for the social and political consequences that may be produced in other countries as well. Therefore, it is a privileged field for research on the new social dynamics created by the crisis. Do we have already some examples of such research with the use of oral narratives and how can we record these experiences?
- Oral history in education
International experience has shown that oral history programmes developed in schools can help students to develop critical historical thinking, knowledge and competences, but can also help them to reconnect with the learning process when they have
withdrawn. Which are the possibilities to develop such programmes in Greece and what examples do we have already? In the second place, now that education is rapidly changing all over Europe, it seems particular important to study older educational practices and the way they are changing today, by using oral sources.
- Oral history and memory studies
Since the 1980s oral history and biographical research have contributed significantly to the improvement of our understanding of the processes through which individual and social memory are constructed. Yet, during the last two decades academic interest seems to have shifted to the study of public memory (sites of memory, politics of memory). This field of “memory studies” has often ignored the theoretical insights of oral history and rarely uses oral narratives as a source of knowledge. How can we bridge this gap? Some of the topics which might concern us here are the relation between individual and collective memory, the role of subjectively lived experience in relation with broader social and political processes and the techniques of analysis of oral narratives.
If you are interested in participating in this conference, you are kindly invited to send a title and abstract, indicating the topic that interests you, until February, 28, 2012, to the following email address: rvboe@yahoo.gr
The organizing committee
Riki Van Boeschoten – University of Thessaly
Tasoula Vervenioti – Greek Open University
Maria Thanopoulou – EKKE (National Centre for Social Research)
Irene Nakou – University of Thesaly
Konstandina Bada – University of Ioannina
Pothiti Hantzaroula – University of the Aegean
Yorgos Tsiolis – University of Crete
05/2012
The Conference “Museums and Education: Critical Review and future perspectives”, was organised by the the University of Thessaly educational departments of the Greek Department of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), at the University of Thessaly in Volos, Greece, on 9-11 November 2007.
11/2007
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organising committee of the 1st Greek Conference on Early Childhood Education which was realised by the University of Thessaly Laboratory of Theoretical and Practical Pedagogy, in Salonica on 29-30 September 2007.
09/2007
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organising committee of the International Scientific Meeting, “Representations of Cities in City-Museums: Assumptions and perpesctives”. The Meeting was held at the History and Documentation Centre of the Municipality of the City of Volos, in April 2006.
04/2006
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organising committee of the ESREA – Life history and Biography Network’ International Conference, “Transitional Spaces, Transitional Processes and Research”, which was held, by the contribution of the History and Documentation Centre of the Municipality of Volos and the Greek Association of Clinical Social Research, in Volos, on 2-5 March 2006.
03/2006
Scientific Venues, Lectures
The Seminar was organized by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory of the Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Thessaly, in the framework of the Erasmus + Program (Key Action 1): “Tracing Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Utilizing Museums, Culture of the European Dimension of Education ” Code Number: 2017-1-CY01-KA101-026627, Volos, 2018. Ministry of Education and Culture Cyprus, Directorate Larnaka-Ammoxostos, (2018).
06/2018
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the international Cultureshutdown project, on March 4, 2013, Day of Museum Solidarity. For more information visit: Cultureshutdown.net
For the international participation see: Solidarity Gallery, and especially for the ME&R Lab participaition see Solidarity Gallery p. 5.
03/2013
Ancient painting and the grave steles of Demitrias
The scientific venue “Ancient painting and the grave steles of Demirias” was organised by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory, the 13th Instution of Prehistoric and Classic Antiquities and the Archaeological Museum of Volos. It included two lectures given by the archaeologist Anthi Batsiou-Efstathiou and the painter Alecos Levidis. It was held at the University of Thessaly in Volos on 10 May 2005.
05/2005
The material substance of books as works of Art
The scientific venue “The material substance of books as works of Art” was organised by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory, and it included a lecture given by the artist Kyrillos Sarris and the projection of his video “Books of Art”. It was held at the University of Thessaly in Volos, on 19 April 2005.
04/2005
One-day Conferences
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory began a cooperation with AstronART educational initiative in order to perform a systematic evaluation, since the program was composed by a number of original and innovative elements. Project results were presented at an exhibition and one-day conference in Macedonian Museum of Conteporary Art in Thessaloniki, Τ07.05.2017-27.05.2017
05/2017
International Day of Musuems
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS MAKE CONNECTIONS
One-day Confernce organized by the University of Thessaly Museum Education and Research
and
the Archaeological Museum of Volos
In memory of G. Hourmouziadis
The one-day conference in memory of G. Hourmouziadis will take place at the Archaeological Museum of Volos, on Monday 12/5/2014 (9:30-14:00). The conference is organized in the context of the International Day of Museums, by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory of the University of Thessaly and the Athanassakion Archaeological Museum of Volos.
05/2014
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory organised a two-day conference on Museum Education – Theory and Practice in Volos, on 7 & 8 September 2013.
09/2013
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated with a paper on ‘People with special Needs and the Museum’ at the One-day conference organized by the Archaeological Museum of Volos, in the context of the celebrations of the International Day of Museums 2013.
05/2013
The one-day conference on “Current approaches to research in museum education” was organized by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory at the University of Thessaly in Volos, on 11/11/2012.
11/2012
MLICT 2012, 2nd Symposium on Museum Learning through Information and Communication Technologies“, 8th Panhellenic Conference with International Participation on “Information and Communication Technologies in Education” University of Thessaly, Volos, (2012).
09/2012
One-day Conference: “Travelling in Time through Art – Creative educational practices”
The One-day Conference “Travelling in Time through Art – Creative educational practices” is organised by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory and the Environmental Communication and Audio-visual Documentation Laboratory of the University of Thessaly in collaboration with the 13th Greek Institution of Prehistoric and Classic Antiquities and the “Athanassakio” Archaeological Museum of Volos. The Conference, mainly addressing teachers and students, will take place at the Archaeological Museum of Volos, on 9 March 2012, as a parallel venue of the Exhibition “Travelling in Time through Art”.
03/2012
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organising committee of the One-day Conference “Educational material for museums: Planning, uses and assessment”, which was held at the University of Thessaly in Volos, on 11 November 2007.
11/2007
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory organised the One-day Conference “The ‘Melina Project’ – Culture and the Arts in Education”, at the University of Thessaly, on 19 May 2007. The vision and methods of the “Melina Project” were presented by the Project coordinator Nikos Paizis and Menis Theodoridis in the first part of the confrence, which was followed by relevant workshops in which more than 50 students participated.
05/2007
Exhibitions
Travelling in Time through Art
The Exhibition “Travelling in Time through Art” is organised by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory and the Environmental Communication and Audio-visual Documentation Laboratory of the University of Thessaly, in collaboration with the 13th Greek Institution of Prehistoric and Classic Antiquities and the “Athanassakio” Archaeological Museum of Volos. The exhibition, which presents art works that were created by children (5-10 years old) who participated in the art workshop that was organised and held by the artist Christina Nakou ( www.christinanakou.gr ), during the years 2010-2011. The Exhibition will be presented at the Archaeological Museum of Volos from 11 February 2012 till 10 March 2012.
02/2012
Educational practices in Greek museums
The Poster-Exhibition “Educational practices in Greek museums” was organised by the Museum Education and Research Laboratory as a parallel venue of the Conference “Museums and Education”. It was held at the University of Thessaly in Volos, on 9-11 November 2007.
11/2007
Educational material for use in museums
The Exhibition “Educational material for use in museums” was organised as a parallel venue of the Conerence “Museums and Education”. It was held at the University of Thessaly in Volos, on 11 November 2007.
11/2007
Twenty-years Workshop
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory participated in the organising committee of the Exhibition “Twenty-years Workshop”, which was held at the Municipal Art Museum of Larissa, on 11 November 2006. The Laboratory’s Chair, Irene Nakou, participated as a key-note speaker, at the celebrating meeting.
11/2006
Paulos Nikolakopoulos Work
The Museum Education and Research Laboratory organised the exhibition “Paulos Nikolakopoulos’ Work” at the University of Thessaly Library, as a parallel venue of the International Conference “Transitional Spaces, Transitional Processes and Research, of the ‘ESREA – Life history and Biography Network’, that was held in Volos on 2-5 Μαρτίου 2006.
03/2006