The University of Liverpool said the conference, to be held at Liverpool's Merseyside Maritime Museum in April, will examine the role of public history in art, archeology, film and sport. Speakers will include former British Minister for Welfare Reform Frank Field; Sandy Nairne, director of Britain's National Portrait Gallery; and Lonnie Bunch, director of the U.S. National Museum of African-American History.

The role of museums in constructing and reinforcing collective identities will also be debated, officials said, with a particular focus on the interpretation of slavery as presented in British, U.S. and Jamaican museums.

"Museums and heritage organizations are significant cultural forces reaching mass audiences on an intellectual and emotional level, and thus shape the general public's views about history," said Holger Hoock of the University of Liverpool's school of history. "This conference will put local experience and innovation into an international context …"

The multi-disciplinary conference, organized jointly with National Museums Liverpool and the University of London, will be held April 10-12.