Letter from the Editors

The Editorial Board

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Issue 21 of EPOCH, following the theme of ‘Heritage and Memory’. Over the summer months, the EPOCH Editorial Board has enjoyed a (short) break from our research to explore museums, memorials, and other heritage sites across Great Britain and the world; we are sure that many of our historically minded readers have had similar trips!

The summer break in the British university calendar came after a rather hectic few months for Lancaster-based historians. We celebrated the fifth anniversary of EPOCH at the beginning of June with the release of Issue 20, welcomed emerging academics from across the world for a resoundingly successful edition of the Lancaster Historical Postgraduate Conference (LHPC) at the end of the month, and learned that the History Department would soon be reorganised into one of Lancaster University’s four new ‘schools’. Therefore Issue 21 is the end of an ‘epoch’, if you will, as it will be the last to be published before we officially start the new academic year in October as part of the ‘School of Global Affairs’. EPOCH would like to thank the History Department for their continuous support since our founding in 2020, and we are excited to see what opportunities lie in store for us under the new ‘school’ system.

Returning to Issue 21, we have been delighted to receive so many fascinating articles which fit our theme of ‘Heritage and Memory’. Megan Schlanker, one of the speakers at LHPC 2025, dives into the dark days of the Second World War to investigate how museums altered their approach to children’s education and enjoyment of heritage spaces. Elsewhere, Carys Tyson-Taylor has highlighted the work of Emyr Estyn Evans in creating diverse representations of identity at the Ulster Folk Museum in Northern Ireland. Whilst away from the British Isles, Gustavo Crubellati Nunes has analysed the role of missionaries in preserving Indigenous culture in Brazil. We also have pieces on the politics of ‘digital heritage’, the lives and works of two Glasgow-based sculptors, and an editorial from the EPOCH team showcasing some of our favourite heritage sites, museums, and objects within collections. Issue 21 also features in-depth reviews, a fascinating conversation piece on unexpected connections between the research of two EPOCH alumni, an insight into the battle for a Black British educational movement, and a debate regarding a Plantagenet monarch’s reputation. We hope there is something for everyone to enjoy!

Sadly, summer is now coming to an end; the days will soon become much shorter and the cold nights much longer. However, the end of summer heralds the coming of the new academic year, which will bring a fresh cohort of MAs and PGRs to Lancaster University, and we cannot wait to welcome them all. Hopefully you will see a few of the new faces appear in Issue 22 in December as new members of the EPOCH Editorial Board! Our next issue will focus on the theme of ‘Sport and Society’, and submissions are now open to all potential pitches. We hope you enjoy Issue 21, and we shall see you all in a few months for another engrossing issue of EPOCH!

Sincerely,

The Editorial Board