School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan

Interlace panel from the Govan sarcophagus, carved for the bones of St Constantine, c. 900 AD

Heritage Philosophy & Practice

This research group is an active collaboration between University of Glasgow researchers and affiliate colleagues:   

Kenny Brophy  (Archaeology, University of Glasgow)

Chris Dalglish (Archaeology, University of Glasgow)

Alan Leslie (Northlight Heritage, honorary research fellow, University of Glasgow)

Gavin MacGregor (Northlight Heritage, honorary research fellow, University of Glasgow)

Aphrodite Sorotou (Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos; PhD researcher, University of Glasgow)

We have a common interest in archaeology and heritage research which investigates interactions between academia, the public, private and third sectors and diverse public constituencies and which seeks to articulate past, present and future, linking understanding of the past with current problems and with action to address those problems.  In our collaborations to date, our particular focus has been the philosophy and practice of landscape protection, management and planning, something we have been exploring from the point of view of the discipline of Archaeology and in collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines, professions and sectors.  Our work in this area relates to current developments in landscape policy, professional practice and research.


The Transforming Practice Landscape Research Workshops

Our initial collaborations on questions of landscape philosophy and practice targeted certain challenges facing the discipline and profession of Archaeology in the early 21st century (discussed in three sessions at the Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) conference: Theory on Trial, 2008; Landscape Theory, Landscape Practice: contemporary intersections between past and future, 2009; Escaping-scapes: the value of –scapes to understanding past practices, 2010).

From there, we have engaged across disciplinary and professional boundaries.  In 2010/2011, we organised the Transforming Practice inter-disciplinary landscape research workshop series, with the support of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Landscape Research Group.  Transforming Practice was a sustained dialogue between participants from a range of disciplines (archaeology, environmental management, forestry, geography, history, landscape architecture, law, literature, philosophy, sociology, theatre studies, town planning), sectors (universities and research institutes, government, third sector, professional practice) and countries (the U.K., Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Italy).  The aim was to reflect upon current and emerging trends and to develop concrete propositions for research which seeks to: 1) transform the theory and practice of those disciplines for which landscape is a concern; 2) inform landscape policy and decision making.

Details of the workshops and the end-of-project symposium can be found in the briefing notes and summaries below.  The briefing notes were issued to participants in advance of each workshop and summaries provide a raw record of the discussions:

European Network for Archaeology and Integrated Landscape Research

Emerging from the Transforming Practice series and related developments are a series of initiatives and projects designed to tackle the question: how should the past of a landscape contribute to its future?  This question requires Archaeology to define its general contribution to the protection, management and planning of landscapes and to define how archaeologists can be active in shaping particular landscapes and realising particular social and other benefits.  The question connects Archaeology with other landscape disciplines and with broader shifts in policy and practice (e.g. as associated with the implementation of the European Landscape Convention) and in research (see the ESF-COST briefing Landscape in a Changing World).  These developments require collaboration between disciplines and the integration of research, practice and policy problems, and they require research linked to action for social, environmental and other benefits.    

At the annual conference of the European Association of Archaeologists (Oslo, Sept. 2011), we ran a session on ‘Integrated Landscape Research: the dynamics of policy, practice and philosophy across Europe’.  This involved archaeologists from across Europe and concluded with agreement on the principle of establishing a network for discussion, knowledge exchange and research activity in this area.  To take this further, we are collaborating with Graham Fairclough of English Heritage to organise a European Network for Archaeology and Integrated Landscape Research.  The launch and first meeting of the Network will take place at the next EAA meeting (Helsinki, August/Sept. 2012), at a session entitled Archaeology and Landscape: Integrated Research and the Common Good.