Creative approaches to heritage challenges

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Creative approaches to heritage challenges

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

Heritage is not history; rather, it is the way that societies make sense of the past in the present and carry it into the future. So, where there is heritage there are people – creating, interpreting, storytelling, preserving, safeguarding, communicating – different aspects of memory, place and identity.   

Research shows that engaging with heritage can have positive effects on sense of place and identity, community cohesion, and wellbeing. But heritage can also be linked to divisiveness and exclusion or become fragmented or lost as it is shaped by social or natural forces. A ‘critical’ approach to heritage recognises that ‘heritage’ can mean different things to different people, and that it does not operate in isolation but is a part of society and imbricated with other aspects of culture.  

This proposal invites applicants to apply approaches from creative practice, social sciences, or a combination, to addressing real-world challenges relating to heritage. Proposal should focus on one of the Centre’s three thematic areas, drawing from overarching questions as:  

• Equality and inclusion: What are the different heritage values of diverse groups (especially those who have been minoritised)? How can these be better reflected in the sector workforce, in curation and interpretation, and in society?  
• Sustainable places: How does heritage function as a catalyst for pride in place, wellbeing, and community cohesion and regeneration (e.g. what affective, practical, and/or social processes and mechanisms does it enable?)  
• Storytelling: How can creative innovations in curation and interpretation, visitor experience, or site/exhibition design provide new perspectives? How can competing heritage discourses and perspectives be reconciled, and enable heritage to be a good for all? What stories are missing and how can they be (re)told? 

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy and the following department.

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.