Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

History

Summary of research interests and expertise:

Dr Ruth Slatter is Lecturer in Historic Environment & Knowledge Exchange Manager at the Institute of Historical Research.  

Ruth is an interdisciplinary historian who specialises in participatory histories and the study of peoples’ everyday uses and experiences of the historic built environment. 

Dr Ruth Slatter is Lecturer in Historic Environment and Knowledge Exchange Manager at the Institute of Historical Research. A member of the Institute’s Centre for the History of People, Place and Community, as part of her role she is the architectural editor of the Victoria County History. 

Ruth is a tutor on the MA in History, Place & Community. She convenes the Historic Places: Landscapes, Buildings & Significance module (with Dr Adam Chapman) and contributes to the Applied Public History module. 

Ruth’s research explores how people have used, experienced, and been affected by the historic built environment. To date, her research has largely focused on people’s experiences of faith spaces and international exhibitions since the early nineteenth century. In recent years, she has led the British Academy-funded project Jumpers, Umbrellas, and Plastic Bags: material culture and women’s everyday experiences of Methodism in England from 1945 and received funding from the Royal Geographical Society to explore James Smetham’s lived experiences of Methodism in nineteenth-century Stoke Newington. 

Ruth’s research is grounded in interdisciplinarity and co-production. Having studied art and design history before completing her PhD in historical geography, she uses visual, material, and spatial approaches to explore the lived experiences of ordinary individuals often overlooked in written archives. She also uses participatory methods to co-produce knowledge with contemporary communities. Recently, this has included working with Methodist congregations to co-produce histories of their buildings, collaborating with Epworth Old Rectory and Methodist Women in Britain as they crowd-source an archive of women’s experiences of Methodism, and making creative interactions with the art of the Methodist and Pre-Raphaelite James Smetham. 

 

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
01-Nov-2023	The Methodist Women’s Collection: a feminist archive Chapters Slatter, Ruth and Worthen, Hannah (2023), The Methodist Women’s Collection: a feminist archive. In ed. Thomas Dobson, Our Justice Journeys: Three Centuries of Striving for a Better World (Oxford: Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History).
01-Apr-2023	Geographical Approaches to Religion in the Past, Geography Compass Journal articles Slatter, Ruth (2023) Geographical Approaches to Religion in the Past.Geography Compass, 17(4), pp.1-17.
01-Apr-2023	Sacred Squares? A non-representational study of James Smetham’s (1821-1889) everyday artistic experiences of religion, faith, and spirituality Journal articles Slatter, Ruth (2023) Sacred Squares? A non-representational study of James Smetham’s (1821-1889) everyday artistic experiences of religion, faith, and spirituality. Journal of Historical Geography, 79, pp. 26-38.
04-Dec-2020	Worship, social gatherings and the ‘more-than-Wesleyan’: the multiple uses and congregational experiences of London’s Wesleyan Methodist chapels (1851-1932) Journal articles Slatter, Ruth (2021) Worship, social gatherings and the ‘more-than-Wesleyan’: the multiple uses and congregational experiences of London’s Wesleyan Methodist chapels (1851-1932). The London Journal, 46(2), pp.165-186.
03-Feb-2020	Three Participatory Geographers: Reflections on Positionality and Working with Participants in Researching Religions, Spiritualities, And Faith. Social and Cultural Geography Journal articles Denning, Stephanie, Scriven, Richard, and Slatter, Ruth (2022) Three Participatory Geographers: Reflections on Positionality and Working with Participants in Researching Religions, Spiritualities, And Faith. Social and Cultural Geography 23(6), pp.892-910.
01-Feb-2020	Becoming chapels and everyday congregations: how the repair and maintenance of London’s Wesleyan chapels illustrates their communities’ everyday practices and experiences (1851-1932) Journal articles Slatter, Ruth (2020) Becoming chapels and everyday congregations: how the repair and maintenance of London’s Wesleyan chapels illustrates their communities’ everyday practices and experiences (1851-1932). Journal of Design History, 33(1), pp. 34-49.
01-Apr-2019	Materiality and the extended geographies of religion: the institutional design and everyday experiences of London’s Wesleyan Methodist circuits, 1851 – 1932 Journal articles Slatter, Ruth (2019) Materiality and the extended geographies of religion: the institutional design and everyday experiences of London’s Wesleyan Methodist circuits, 1851 – 1932, Journal of Historical Geography, 64, pp. 60-71.
09-Nov-2018	Materialities and Historical Geographies: an introduction Journal articles Slatter (née Mason), Ruth (2019) Materialities and Historical Geographies: an introduction. Area, 51(1), pp.2-6.
15-May-2017	Material 'Becomings' and a Historical Geography of Religious Experience: Metropolitan Methodism, 1851-1932 Journal articles Slatter (née Mason), Ruth (2019) Material 'Becomings' and a Historical Geography of Religious Experience: Metropolitan Methodism, 1851-1932, Area, 51(1), pp. 14-24.
26-Apr-2016	A ‘More-than-Architectural’ Approach to Faith Spaces: Wesleyan Methodist Spaces in London, 1851-1932 Journal articles Slatter (née Mason), Ruth (2015) A ‘More-than-Architectural’ Approach to Faith Spaces: Wesleyan Methodist Spaces in London, 1851-1932. Interiors: Design, Architecture, Culture, Spaces of Faith Special Issue, 6(3), pp. 306-328.
01-Jan-2015	The Design of Nineteenth-Century Wesleyan Space: Re-Reading F.J. Jobson’s’ Chapel and School Architecture Journal articles Slatter (née Mason), Ruth (2015) The Design of Nineteenth-Century Wesleyan Space: Re-Reading F.J. Jobson’s’ Chapel and School Architecture. Wesley and Methodist Studies, 7(1), pp.78-99.

Research Projects & Supervisions

Research projects:

Details
200 years of James Smetham. In collaboration with the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, artists, curators and researchers (2019 – 2023).   Exhibition in Bewdley Museum (September - October, 2023). Public-art workshops. Online exhibitions. Digitalisation programme. Online course.
Jumpers, umbrellas and plastic bags: material culture and women’s everyday experiences of Methodism in England from 1945 British Academy Small Research Grant (as PI, £9926.13 over 16 months, September 2019- December 2020).  Using the Methodist Women's Collection at Epworth Old Rectory to explore women's everyday experience of Methodism in Britain since 1945.
Spaces of nineteenth-century congregational faith: James Smetham (1821-1889) and Methodism in Stoke Newington Funded by a Royal Geographical Society Small Research Grant (as PI, £1400 over 12 months, May 2019 – May 2020).  Exploring James Smetham's experiences of Methodism in nineteenth-century north London.

Current PhD topics supervised:

Dates	Details
From: 01-Oct-2023 Until: 01-Oct-2024	The Classical Campus: Architecture and Privilege at Elite New England Boarding Schools Justin Muchnick
From: 01-Oct-2021 Until: 01-Oct-2026	Exploring ‘the domestic’ in contemporary hospice architecture: a critical examination of the architecture and design of in-patient palliative care facilities in England Lucia Crowther. Funded by a Wellcome Trust PhD Scholarship.

Past PhD topics supervised:

Dates	Details
From: 01-Jan-2018 Until: 01-Oct-2022	The impact of women on family dynastic ambitions and legal change in England, 1550-1800 Stormm Buxton-Hill (University of Hull)
From: 01-Jan-2018 Until: 31-Mar-2020	Reading the academic library Lee Fallin (University of Hull)
From: 01-Jan-2018 Until: 01-Oct-2022	Agricultural heritage of Saltaire Ruth Quinn (University of Hull)

Available for doctoral supervision: Yes

Professional Affiliations

Collaborations:

Name	Type	Activity	Start date	End date
200 Years of James Smetham	Collaborative coproduction with Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, curators, artists, and art educators.	Public-art workshops, online exhibitions, digitalisation programme, and online course.	03-Sep-2019	31-Jan-2024

Relevant Events

Related events:

Date	Details
30-Aug-2024	The implications of the historical geographies of Christian mission for geographies of contemporary faith-based social action Organisation of a roundtable discussion at the Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference (2024).
01-May-2024	Seeley and Paget: Restoration and Reputation in the Twenty-First Century Host and member of the organising committee of a one-day, interdisciplinary, cross-sector, public conference at The Charter House
01-Sep-2023	Participatory Historical Geographies Co-convenor of two sessions around this theme at the 2023 Annual International Royal Geographical Society Conference.
31-Aug-2023	Geographies of Religions, Faith, and Spiritualities Co-organiser of two sessions around this theme at the Annual International Royal Geographical Society Conference (2023).

Knowledge transfer activities:

Details
Let’s Talk About … Sacred Places Contributor to the Society of Australian Genealogy ‘Let’s Talk About … Sacred Places’ online roundtable, July 2024.
The Methodist Women’s Collection Alongside my research partner Hannah Worthern, I spoke about our research into the The Methodist Women’s Collection at the 2024 Methodist Women in Britain Garden Party at Epworth Old Rectory.
Pre-Raphaelite Society Podcast: James Smetham as a Pre-Raphaelite Outsider With my research collaborator Peter Forsaith I contributed to a panel discussion about James Swmtham for the Pre-Raphaelite Society Podcast.
The Victoria County History a community of knowledge production and sharing 1899-2024 Conference paper at the one-day conference: Communities of Knowledge Sharing and Production hosted at the Bath Royal Science and Philosophical Society.
James Smetham: spaces of spirituality Seminar paper given in collaboration with L. Barret, T. Dobson, P. Forsaith, S. Middleton and D. Read as part of the Institute of Historical Researcher's People, Place and Community seminar series.
Buildings Histories Contributor to the Gloucestershire Archives Local History Training Series organised in collaboration with VCH Gloucestershire and UWE.
Methodist Women in Britain exhibition Consultant working with Epworth Old Rectory to curate their permanent exhibition space about the history of Methodist Women in Britain
200 Years of James Smetham Part of the curatorial team for the 200 Years of James Smetham exhibition at Bewdley Museum, September - October 2023.
A place amongst many: James Smetham’s Orrery of Personal Responsibility Collaborative public creative workshop run with Sarah Middleton exploring James Smetham's Orrery of Personal Responsibility.
James Smetham and his Orrery of Personal Responsibility A video introducing James Smetham and an aspect of his work. I produced and presented this video alongside Sarah Middleton.

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