David Livingstone Birthplace

Podcast

Our Stories. Episode 4 - Collectively Imagining Our Futures

In this, our final episode of this series, I am going to look at how things will play out in the future. How we collectively imagine our futures was a big theme that rose to the surface during the weekend. Throughout, we looked at imagining otherwise through care and healing.

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Our Stories. Episode 3 - The Stories We Tell Each Other and Ourselves

In this, our penultimate episode of the series, we’re looking at one of the reasons why this podcast came together. It’s about the stories we tell each other and ourselves. When Natasha was curating this series they said it would look at reflecting on the stories that David Livingstone Birthplace are telling, the stories artists of the African Scottish diaspora are telling, and how these can act as bridges between people, storytelling then became the overall theme. I am going to look at that in a bit more detail now…

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Our Stories. Episode 2 - Joining the Disparate Dots

In this, our second episode we explore the joining of disparate dots. And by disparate, that may mean displacement, disconnection from heritage and the stories of our lives but also, how to connect old lives to new, including moving from one continent to another for example.

This was a strong theme over the weekend programmed by Natasha and their creative community, but we also wanted to question what are these dots? Who and what do they represent? How might they join? Do they even join? And hopefully, some of these questions will be answered OR… give us more to think about.

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Our Stories. Episode 1 - How We Remember and Reflect on the Past

This four-part podcast series, brought to you by The Skinny in partnership with We Are Here Scotland, explores the conversations, questions, creativity and reflections that emerged from Our Stories Between the Myths and Memories: a free weekend of storytelling by artists from the Scottish African diaspora at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum, October 2022.

In this first episode, we explore how we remember and reflect on the past. What has this commission evoked for people? How have they navigated their past experiences and stories? And what questions do they have now?

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Black History Month Special With S. I. Martin

In this episode S.I. Martin (Author and Historian), Natalie Milor (Curator) and Alasdair Campbell (Communities and Partnership Development Officer) discuss the newly re-opened DLB museum in the context of Black History Month.

The group discuss the redevelopment process and why this work is vital within the museum sector and the wider social and political context. They consider what more must be done to open up collections and archives to communities and the importance of championing overlooked narratives of Black History. They also explore topics including decolonisation, why 'woke' culture receives so much criticism and what should be next for DLB.

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Mini Series - Tunya Investigates! Episode 5 - Religion

In this episode of Tunya Investigates, we talk to Fizza who is one of our MGS Upskilling and Celebrating Volunteers Programme volunteers.

Fizza has been doing some research into people who travelled with David and people who he met while travelling – many of whom had different religions and beliefs to his own. We ask her a little bit about her research and what she’s discovered along the way that has surprised her.

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Mini Series - Tunya Investigates! Episode 4 - Religion

In this episode of Tunya Investigates, we’re talking to Douglas who is a volunteer tour guide and museum trustee with the David Livingstone Trust.

Douglas is also a former Christian missionary, a bit like David Livingstone! We talk to Douglas about the differences between missionary work in David’s time and missionary work today, as well as the importance of faith to Livingstone and to Douglas himself.

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Mini Series - Tunya Investigates! Episode 2 - Factory Life

Hello and welcome to another episode of Tunya Investigates!

Today we're talking about David's childhood in Blantyre. What did he get up to every day? What were his interests? What were his family like? When did he start working at the mill? What kind of child would David be if he was growing up today?

For answers to all these questions, listen to this second episode of Tunya Investigates!

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Mini Series - Tunya Investigates! Episode 1 - Conservation

Welcome to Tunya Investigates! The new podcast mini-series brought to you by the David Livingstone Birthplace Project.

Join Tunya the Lion as he learns all about the Museum Collection and about David Livingstone himself. Today we are discussing a very special Hippo tooth from the museum's collection, how it got there and how we look after it. With special guest Learning Assistant Rosa Cato and host Tunya the Lion.

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Episode 4: Inside the Birthplace Collection: Kate Simpson Talks About the Manganga (Man'janga) Lip Ring

In this episode Dr Kate Simpson, Lecturer in Digital Media and Information Studies at the University of Glasgow, talks to Sophie Wylie, Museum Studies student at the University of Glasgow, about the Manganga (Man'janga) lip ring David Livingstone took in May 1859. Livingstone subsequently sent the lip ring back as a present to his daughter Agnes and notes in his letter how “sorry” the original owner had been to part with it. Kate discusses the significance of the lip ring and the problems inherent in its acquisition, as it was transformed from a piece of woman’s jewellery to a colonial artefact. The lip ring is on loan to the David Livingstone Birthplace museum collection.

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Episode 3: Inside the Birthplace Collection: Kate Smith Talks About A Photograph Album

In this week's episode, Collections Manager Kate Smith talks to Sophie Wylie, Museum Studies student at the University of Glasgow, about a photograph album in the David Livingstone Birthplace Collection. The album likely covers a mission station in Southern Africa in the early 20th century. One of the photographs in this album depicts local children playing a game. Kate recognises this game as a version of one she played as a child in North America - 'mancala'. Through discussions with trainees at the museum, the team discovered a connection they didn't expect.

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Episode 2: Inside the Birthplace Collection: Lesley Scott on David Livingstone's Humerus Bone

In this episode Conservator Lesley Scott talks to Sophie Wylie about the cast of the left arm humerus bone of David Livingstone (1813-1873), displaying the damage done to his upper arm when he was mauled by a lion. The condition of the bone verified that the remains which were returned from Africa in 1873 were indeed those of the famous explorer. Three casts of the bone are part of David Livingstone Birthplace museum collection.

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Episode 1: Kate Simpson Interviews Justin Livingstone About Missionary Travels Digital Edition

Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (1857) is David Livingstone’s major literary accomplishment. It serves as the primary public statement of both his personal objectives as a missionary and explorer and his theories about the future prospects of south-central Africa. Following publication, Missionary Travels became one of the most influential works on Africa of the mid-Victorian period.

It encouraged other expeditionary travellers, inspired numerous missionary ventures, and contributed significantly to the intensification of interest in the continent prior to the “Scramble for Africa” in the late-nineteenth century.

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We are very grateful to our key funders the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and the Scottish Government for their support in helping us deliver the Birthplace Project.

National Lottery Heritage Fund
Scottish Government
Historic Environment Scotland
Note: Please note that David Livingstone Birthplace (and the David Livingstone Trust) is no longer part of National Trust Scotland (NTS). NTS members will therefore no longer receive discounted/free entry to the Birthplace Museum.

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