Oud Ammerveld, Janneke Jeannette;
(2022)
What does climate change change? Understanding climate change in the work of heritage government authorities in England and Sweden.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis critically examines the impact of climate change on the heritage work of Historic England (HE) and the Riksantikvarieämbetet (‘Swedish National Heritage Board’ – RAÄ). The research is based on the understanding of climate change as a hyperobject (Morton, 2013), a term coined to describe the ways in which climate change does not only operate through its physical impact but also shifts social and material relations between humans, nonhumans and inanimate agents. By applying an ethnographic methodology, this thesis critically reflects on the responses of HE and the RAÄ to the climate crisis by questioning what understandings of climate change and heritage inform these and, subsequently, what this means for climate action and the creation of (alternative) futures. The research develops around three themes representing both organisations' primary climate change engagements: adaptation, mitigation, and participation. The thesis argues that the first two responses are informed by understanding climate change as an environmental impact and a carbon problem. The third theme considers how both organisations aim to be included in the climate change discourse as it takes place in other sectors, particularly in the natural environment sector and how they attempt to challenge these existing nature/culture dichotomies. However, I will argue that they do not overcome this dualism on the ontological level. Throughout, it argues that both organisations uphold an anthropocentric approach that aims to demonstrate heritage's relevance and positive impact by emphasising the benefits of its conservation to its human custodians, while climate change remains framed as an external impact. The latter prevents a critical reflection of the existing heritage discourse, the socio-environmental and political drivers of the climate crisis and the role heritage plays in these. Therefore, in conclusion, this thesis briefly reflects on what role heritage could play in futures that challenge the current status quo.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | What does climate change change? Understanding climate change in the work of heritage government authorities in England and Sweden |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. - Please note: Some third party copyright material has been removed from this e-thesis. |
| Keywords: | heritage, climate change, hyperobject, heritage policy, Capitalocene, Anthropocene, futures |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10151143 |
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