Dangerous Writings

"Dangerous writings" have long served as both catalysts for transformation and sources of profound personal and collective risk. From incendiary manifestos to suppressed memoirs and carceral correspondence, these texts expose, unsettle, and resist. While we recognise their power to challenge authority and interrogate societal norms, we know far less about how their creation, preservation, and reading are fraught with ethical, emotional, and even legal implications.

This unique symposium explores the multifaceted dangers of writing, curating, and reading—and the responsibilities they entail. Bringing together archivists and scholars from across disciplines, we aim to understand how dangerous writings emerge, how they shape those who encounter them, and how we might ethically engage with them.

There will be lunch and coffee breaks throughout the event, followed by a wine reception.

IMAGE AND VIDEO CONSENT: There may be photographs/videos taken at the event. If you do not wish to be in any images, please make University staff aware at the event.

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS: Please contact soss.externalrelations@manchester.ac.uk if you have any allergens or requirements.

Programme

9:30 - 10:00 - Arrival and Registration

10:00 - 10:15 - Welcome to Manchester

10:15 - 11:15 - Keynote Panel: Curating Dangerous Writings

Chair: Marion Vannier

• Flora Chatt – (curator of the Humanitarian Archive at the University of Manchester Library) - TBC
• Steven Hartshorne – (curator of the Science, Technology and Medicine Printed Collections) - TBC
• Dr Janette Martin – (Research and Learning Manager and Modern History Archivist) - TBS
• Dr Tereza Ward – (archivist and curator of the Christian Brethren Archive at the University of Manchester Library) - TBC

11:15 - 11:30 - Coffee Break

11:30 - 12:45 - Panel 2 - Research at the Edge: Ethical Challenges of Studying Dangerous Writings

Chair: Jon Shute

• Mary Bosworth (University of Oxford) – Ethical dimensions of researching harmful narratives
• Kate Herrity (University of Cambridge) – Reflections on carceral texts and responsibility
• Emily Turner & Marion Vannier (University of Manchester) – Engaging ethically with prisoners’ letters

12:45 - 13:45 - Lunch Break

13:45 - 15:00 - Panel 3 - To Write in Danger

Chair: Steve Scott-Bottoms

• Lucy Campbell (University of Edinburgh) - Looking Through a Two-Way Mirror, Prison Diaries and Ethical Representations of the Past Self
• Elian Weizman (London South Bank University) - Act/Art of Resistance: theatre as ‘dangerous writings’ in the Israeli settler state
• Sanja Petkovska (University of Belgrade) - Prison Blogging and the Phenomenology of Public Factination by Life in Prison
• Jason Warr (University of Nottingham) - Challenging Emergent Paradigms: The Case of Criminal Justice and Lived Experience

15:00 - 15:15 - Coffee Break

15:15 - 16:30 - Panel 4 - Readers at Risk: Interpretation and Impact of Dangerous Texts

Chair - Emily Turner

• Jacopo Bernardini (University of Pisa) – Memory, narrative, and self-justification in Prefectorial Memoirs from the Italian Social Republic (RSI)
• Jon Shute (University of Manchester) – TBC
• Louise Brangan (University of Strathclyde) – Why theorise suffering?
• Laura Skinner (University of Hull) – “This is not a book of misery or grief, it is a book of hope”: Life Writing as Resistance for Female Survivors of Modern Slavery”

16:30 - 16:45 - Break

16:50 - 17:45 - Performance - "Dear Daisy"

A dramatization of letters written by a person in prison

Script by: Steve Scott-Bottoms (University of Manchester)

Duration: 1 hour including Q&A

17:45 - 17:55 - Closing Remarks

17:55 - 18:45 - Wine Reception

Content Warning: Dangerous Writings Symposium

This symposium explores texts and narratives that may be emotionally challenging or ethically complex. Topics include carceral correspondence, suppressed memoirs, gender-based violence, state oppression, and lived experiences of incarceration and trauma.

These materials may provoke strong emotional responses or raise difficult questions about harm, responsibility, and resistance.

Sessions may include:

• First-person accounts of trauma and imprisonment
• Discussions of ethically complex or violent texts
• Performances and readings that reflect on suffering, resistance, and survival

We recognise that these discussions may be distressing, particularly for those with lived experience of harm. Please engage with the symposium in ways that feel safe and supportive. You are welcome to step out of any session at any time.

Support is available through the University of Manchester’s counselling and wellbeing services, as well as external organisations such as:

• Manchester Mind
• WomenMATTA

This event aims to foster thoughtful, ethical, and inclusive dialogue. We thank you for contributing to a supportive environment for all participants.

If you have any concerns or accessibility needs, please contact us at soss.externalrelations@manchester.ac.uk.