Whose Heritage? An “animal turn” for conservation and management

Research Seminar - Department of Art History and Cultural Practices, University of Manchester

Whose Heritage? An “animal turn” for heritage studies, conservation, and management

Dr Jenna Ashton, University of Manchester

Abstract

This talk offers an overview of research-in-progress focusing on animal geo-cultural practices, offering an intervention for critical heritage studies and global heritage management. The work has evolved from over a decade of researching land practices, environmental issues and communities, which can be broadly described under the umbrella of bio-cultural heritage. This new line of research is concerned for where and how all living beings can be treated fairly as part of our civic systems - and the role of heritage practice and theory. This concerns not only how animals are advocated for within related fields of environmental management, tourism, cultural studies, and so on, but also how animals themselves shape, generate, renew, and reproduce heritage. The presence of the non-human animal in heritage conservation, for example, is mostly framed as one of intruder, pest, or tolerated occupier, frequently posing a technical challenge to the anthropocentric aims of conservation plans. This wider ecology can get in the way. The “animal turn” offers a new frame for how animal bodies, their markings, residues, habitation, uses, experiences, emotions and memories can be incorporated into the affective analysis of environments and valued within heritage-making processes. Extending Stuart Hall’s challenge around “whose heritage?” for animals opens up new lines of enquiry for radically rethinking heritage that supports the political ideal of zoopolis and animal citizenship within culture. The talk addresses the challenges and opportunities of co-designing creative research practice with animals, as well as decision-making around dissemination and outputs.

Biography

Dr Jenna Ashton is a Senior Lecturer in Heritage Studies, University of Manchester. Her interdisciplinary and multi-method research sits across cultural analysis, feminist environmental humanities, and critical heritage studies. Her work focuses on community-based practices, knowledges, and economies with landscapes and ecology. She has a background in arts practice and curation and has trained in permaculture and food forest horticulture design. She is a volunteer bereavement support practitioner with the animal charity, Blue Cross.

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