Workshop: Industrial Heritage and the Construction of Regional Identities: A Global Perspective
The Workshop took place on 29 and 30 October 2015 at the House for the History of the Ruhr/Institute for Social Movements in Bochum, Germany. The organisers, Stefan Berger, Christian Wicke and Jana Golombek, invited scholars from around the world to 12 coal and steel producing regions and discussed to what extent industrial heritage has played a role in the construction and representation of regional identity.The organisers sought to select relatively urbanised and polycentric regions. All speakers were asked to provide a concise overview of 1.) the history of industrialisation and urbanisation of the region, 2.) deindustrialisation and the resulting challenges for the region, 3.) the emergence and development of regional identity, 2.) the emergence and development of industrial heritage, and 3.) the interaction between regional identity and industrial heritage in the region.