October 15-17, 2021
Anne Lister Research Summit
An online conference for
Anne Lister research enthusiasts
The Anne Lister Research Summit's goal is to bring together people interested in researching Anne Lister to share knowledge and develop collaborations.
THE SUMMIT
Interest in Anne Lister exploded over 2019-2020 thanks to Gentleman Jack’s popularity.
The WYAS Diary Transcription Project has engaged over 150 people worldwide with the goal of fully transcribing Anne Lister’s diaries for the first time.
A large number of new Anne Lister fans have started to conduct independent research to learn more about her life and times.
In 2020, the Anne Lister Summit established a forum for fostering this new and growing community of interest.
The Summit allows you to journey beyond the dramatized versions of these amazing women and learn more about their real lives and times, and also acquire new skills to conduct your own research and dive deep into the topics that interest you.
We hope the Summit facilitates people researching Anne Lister finding each other, exchanging knowledge and developing common practices in AL research with a low barrier of entry. We are all excited about Anne, Ann, Mariana, and everyone and everything in-between—including you.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Over the course of three days you'll get to:
Connect and have fun with people who share your enthusiasm and excitement about Anne Lister, her people, and her time—not just making new acquaintances, but creating collaborations that last.
Be part of hands-on sessions exploring how to pursue your topics of interest using accessible historical documents and available technology—in these sessions you actively participate and learn.
Bring who you are into a conference that thinks about the program, the schedule, the collaboration dynamics—as well as ways to celebrate everything you have to share.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Unlike traditional conferences with selected speakers and prepared talks, the Summit includes a variety of session formats led by a facilitator, responsible for ensuring a productive session and encouraging participation.
Sessions include a mix of facilitated discussions, workshops, and showcases centered around sharing and exploring existing information about Anne Lister, how individuals are conducting research to date, and discussions about what the Summit participants want to explore in the future.
To develop a program that covers a variety of interests and topics within the realm of Anne Lister research that is reflective of what our community is looking for, we'll open a call for participation to solicit session ideas so you can tell us what you want to bring to the Summit.
The full event will happen online on live video, to allow for the broadest number of participants across the globe, and to reduce barriers of entry presented by the need to travel, especially considering the risks and constraints of the worldwide pandemic still in place.
VALUES TO BUILD ON
We hope to build a strong community on the following values:
We elevate Anne Lister, the person
By focusing on the historical information available in primary sources and interpreting Anne’s own words through her journals and letters, we honor her legacy and elevate her story.
We are inquisitive and respectful
By being open to different perspectives and interpretations of Anne Lister, we engage in meaningful debate that helps expand our collective understanding of her life and times, enriching the discourse about who she was and her life experience.
We explore in the open
By sharing our work and processes, we bring visibility and greater access to Anne Lister's history and encourage more people to become interested and knowledgeable about her life and times.
We support one another
By offering each other our expertise and empathy, we find new collaborators, help each other learn, and expand access and strengthen the quality of Anne Lister research available to all.
We will strive for excellence following our code of conduct for guidance and support.
The Summit squad
We have spent the last two years researching, transcribing, visiting archives and libraries, hunting for graves, trolling databases, writing, proofreading, fact-checking, spreadsheeting, making web pages, sharing information, promoting resources, and facilitating conversations and partnerships with a variety of people out in the world who share our desire to understand and promote Anne Lister.
With the lessons learned from our experience hosting the first Anne Lister Research Summit and running PackedWithPotential.org, we’ve assembled a three day experience packed with discussions, workshops, panels, and tutorials. We hope this summit will promote a better understanding of Anne Lister and help advance the many avenues of research into her life and we hope you like it.
🎩 LOOKING FOR GENTLEMAN JACK?
We love fictional Anne too! This event is about researching Anne Lister, the real person, who enjoyed a very eventful life between 1791 and 1840.
If you are looking for a place to geek out about Suranne Jones’ wonderful portrayal of Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack, check out GJ HBO/BBC, Shibden After Dark, and #GentlemanJack.