Castles and Coprolites

Museums in the 1990s and earlier were often characterised by a formal, academic, and object-focused approach to display and interpretation. Displays often followed a taxonomic or chronological focus, with artefacts arranged in neat rows and accompanied by detailed, often technical, labels. These displays reflected a curatorial emphasis on classification, provenance, and academic authority. Many museums had a quiet, almost reverential atmosphere, with dim lighting and hushed tones. An interesting article by Kate Hill on the history of museum display cases describes that “ The ideal case contained a complete series systematically arranged, was dustproof, and contained clear scientific labels .” To me, this was bliss. As a child, I adored visiting museums. The Great North Museum (then The Hancock Museum), was a regular weekend destination, a place where I felt at home. I have a distinct memory of a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London , where I discovered the geology ga...

And we're nearing the end of 2023. After a few years of sporadic infrequent posting, I've accepted the fact this will never be the weekly blog that it started out as, all the way back in 2012. My life is almost unrecognisable now compared to when I first started this blog. I was halfway through my first postdoc at York, had no family responsibilities, and publishing my PhD research was going really well. On the surface, an up and coming ECR with a bright future. It took another four years of postdocs before finally getting a permanent academic job in 2015 , literally at the point when I'd decided to leave academia ( and in fact had been in a non-academic job for 6 months ). Since getting married and having a baby, the uncertainty of temporary contracts and having to move around so much was no longer viable. I am not sure how things would have turned out had I not landed my current job. I was happy to have some stability, but the loss of identity as an academic during those ...