On Thursday, 7 May, Professor Barry J. Gibson from the University of Sheffield will deliver a guest lecture at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb.
The lecture, entitled ‘Time-Tripping from the Academy to the Icon: Negotiating Methodological Schisms and the Contested Legacy of Kurt Cobain’, will begin at 9:35 in the Šibenik lecture hall.
In his lecture, Professor Gibson will present the concept of ‘time-tripping’ as a social process in which past events are reconstructed from the perspective of contemporary social problems and interpretations. Starting with the history and methodological disputes within grounded theory, he will analyse how collective memory is shaped through conflicting interpretations of the past, with questions of authorship, power and social legitimation playing a key role.
The second part of the lecture will analyse the reputational legacy of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's frontman, through competing narratives about his life and legacy. Through an analysis of memoirs and biographical sources, Professor Gibson will show how social memory is shaped through competing interpretations that reflect broader social dynamics, including gender politics and cultural conflicts over historical memory.
The lecture will conclude by linking these themes to the problem of history and collective memory in conflict-affected societies, particularly through the perspective of research into historical narratives and social divisions in post-conflict communities.
Professor Gibson works at the School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, as Professor of Medical Sociology and head of the Person-centred and Population Oral Health Research Group. He has worked at the University of Sheffield since 2004, where he established and led the master's programme in Dental Public Health.
Professor Gibson's visit is organised as part of the institutional DIGI-HR research project, based at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, which investigates how the conditions for digital inclusion and exclusion are shaped in contemporary Croatian society.
We invite students, teaching staff and everyone interested to attend this interdisciplinary lecture, which raises important questions about the relationship between history, collective memory, culture and social power.