The Bury-based company has agreed to sponsor the Archaeology of Communications event being organised by the University of Salford during the Manchester Science Festival. The conference will be hosted at the University building at MediaCityUK on Saturday 29th October. A series of guest speakers will plot how our lives have been transformed by mass communication networks, from the advent of the canal and railway systems right through to the impact of digital technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones.
“We’re delighted to support what promises to be a fascinating and insightful conference which will analyse just how communication systems have shaped our cities, society and lives,” commented Pennine’s Marketing Manager, Belinda McGee. “The new MediaCityUK development is of course the ideal venue for such an event. It’s sited alongside the Manchester Ship Canal and Salford docks which played such an important role in establishing Manchester as a major industrialised city and now is home to cutting-edge digital media and broadcasting industries.”
A packed agenda includes talks on the roles played over the centuries by turnpikes, canals, railways, telegraphy, telephones, air, sea and military communications and new digital technologies. Among expert speakers addressing the conference are Mike Nevell, Director, Centre of Applied Archaeology at the University of Salford; John Liffen, Curator of London’s Science Museum; Pauline Webb, Curator at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI); Eric Grove, Professor of Naval History at the University of Salford; Wayne Cocroft, Senior Archaeological Investigator, English Heritage; and Nigel Linge, Professor of Telecommunications at the University of Salford.