Affective practices and the prison visit: learning at Port Arthur and the Cascades Female Factory

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the ways Port Arthur Historic Site and the Cascades Female Factory educate visitors using the often contentious and confronting histories of convictism in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted between 2012 and 2015, and included analysis of exhibitions and education programs at the two sites, as well as interviews with core staff, and archival research. Analysis employed a methodological framework drawing on Margaret Wetherell’s (2012) notion of “affective practice”, as well as understandings of historical thinking in education developed by theorists and educators. Findings: The two sites take differing approaches..