Dr Louise Purbrick

The interpretation of material culture is at the centre of much of Purbrick’s work. Her recent book, The Wedding Present (Ashgate, 2007), explores the giving and keeping of objects in domestic life and co-edited collections, Re-Mapping the Field (2006) and Contested Spaces (2007), examine the many struggles over the meanings of the material remains of violent pasts.

Purbrick is interested in developing and supporting postgraduate research in the following areas: Great Exhibitions; nineteenth-century visual and material culture; material culture and everyday life; contemporary heritage and museum practice.