Seeking regenerative heritage in the anthropocene

Abstract

This thesis clarifies and contextualises what the regenerative paradigm signifies for the field ofheritage. It locates regenerative uses of heritage amidst the Anthropocene, focusing on anecologically damaged setting, Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. It applies regenerative preceptsto the process of heritage research, testing the affordances of the regenerative paradigm withincritical heritage studies. Through first person action research dedicated to place-based criticalpraxis, this thesis engages several methods to locate regenerative aspects within heritageresearch practice, a landscape partnership (or ecomuseological) approach to heritagemanagement, and within popular uses of heritage by environmental activists, including thoseaffiliated with the rights of nature movement. This thesis argues that regenerative heritage iscountermodern, more-than-human, enables or represents an ecological worldview, and isdedicated to the perpetuation of healthy ecosystems across multi-species generations. It findsregenerative heritage uses incorporate systemic and participatory notions of heritage as part ofan extended epistemology. Regenerative heritage enables reflexive correspondence withinmore-than-human communities of life, bolstering techniques for inhabitation that counter theharmful effects of extractivism and modernity. This research scopes possibilities for a newparadigm for the field of heritage transformed through an ecocentric worldview.

Date of Award	Mar 2026
Original language	English
Supervisor	Elizabeth Crooke (Supervisor) & Tom Maguire (Supervisor)