The Program “Heritage and Environment” studies the long-term histories and changing heritage of human living space from prehistory up to the present, exploring new ideas about the relationship between nature and culture, human agency and materiality, global interactions and local engagement, and engages questions of cultural transmission and future design. As anthropologists, archaeologists, architects, engineers, geographers and historians, we seek to address these narratives in interdisciplinary ways.
Exploring heritage in the context of the environment requires novel theoretical, methodological and conceptual approaches as well as instruments that acknowledge the inseparability of natural and cultural heritage, the interconnection of spatial and conceptual aspects of heritage, and the importance of water related heritage for the future. We apply interdisciplinary methods like the Biography of landscape and we are interested in methods of modelling landscape change and digital humanities. This leads to new policy, design, education, and outreach tools.
“Heritage and Environment” generates new interdisciplinary research in this fascinating field and establishes collaboration in academic training (Landscape Biographies), publications (Journal of European Landscapes) and academic events like conferences and seminars. In addition, it intends to create an inspirational environment for PhD's and RMA’s by organizing the joint Re-Scape colloquium.
The research coordinators of Heritage and Environment are Maurits Ertsen and Gerdy Verschuure-Stuip. For more information, please read the group’s position paper.
