Modules

Heritage and Environmental Change (HUMM011)

15 credits

This module explores the challenges facing heritage management in times of accelerated environmental change. Although heritage management is commonly associated with the desire to protect a valued landscape, structure, object or tradition, increased awareness of the potential effects of climate change has led to a recognition that the preservation paradigm may not be sustainable in the long term. This module will explore the emergence of alternative approaches to heritage management, which recognise the inevitability of loss in certain contexts and seek new ways of thinking about the relationship between heritage conservation and environmental sustainability. The module will combine practical, regional field study with exploration of international case studies and policy contexts, considering questions such as: Can people forced from their lands by climate change take their place-based heritage with them in some form? Should heritage landscapes adapt to, or resist, environmental changes? How can heritage organisations effectively communicate climate change issues? The module considers the ways in which heritage is bound up in processes of change and transformation, and uses environment and climate change as a focus to enable you to analyse complex issues in practice.