I just returned from a fascinating week in Liverpool. I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people (mostly through
CouchSurfing), took in all kinds of interesting sights and learned a great deal about the city.
Liverpool as a city dates back 800 years. While it's recent history is probably known to most people, to some degree, because of the legacy of the Beatles (Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, etc), the more distant history is really quite riveting.
(On a the ferry across the Mersey)
As a port city, Liverpool was a stopping place for people from all over the world. In the 18
th century, it grew wealthy from the trading of slaves, raw materials and finished goods. In the 19
th century it was the site from which almost 9 million emigrants to the New World (Irish, Scottish, Swedes, Norwegians, Russians, etc.) said good-bye to the Old World. The people who have been here for generations (the "
Scousers") display elements of this unique past in interesting ways -the dialect of "
Scouse" being perhaps one of the most obvious. The term "
scouse" refers to a type of stew -a version of "
lobscouse" (which some think to be originally a Scandinavian dish imported to the area by Norwegians sailors). The stew (sometimes prepared meatless) is a symbol of the grinding poverty endured by generations of Liverpudlians trying to make it through lean times.
Scouse is a symbol of the resilience of the people and many locals proudly call themselves "
Scousers".
(The new Liverpool One complex)
The city is a wonderfully crazy mix of gritty and grand; the obvious signs of urban blight coexist, and sit next to, conspicuous symbols of "development" and regeneration. In the context of the
EU's Capital of Culture year in Liverpool 2008, the competing notions of "culture" and identity become quite significant, especially as these discourses influence the appropriation and use of city space. This is the topic of my MA thesis.
(Famous
Banksy Rat -opposite the entrance to Europe's oldest Chinatown and down the road from the world's largest Anglican cathedral)
I just returned from a fascinating week in Liverpool. I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people (mostly through CouchSurfing), took in all kinds of interesting sights and learned a great deal about the city.
Liverpool as a city dates back 800 years. While it's recent history is probably known to most people, to some degree, because of the legacy of the Beatles (Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, etc), the more distant history is really quite riveting.
(On a the ferry across the Mersey)
(The new Liverpool One complex)
(Famous Banksy Rat -opposite the entrance to Europe's oldest Chinatown and down the road from the world's largest Anglican cathedral)
1 comment:
It looks so exciting. I am supposed to go to London for one entire month for my research in June. I am really looking forward to it. 'On the ferry across the Mersey'- isnt that a song too?
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