Cait McCullagh
Cait McCullagh
Curating Heritage for Sustainable Communities in Highly Vulnerable Environments: The Case of Scotland's Northern Isles
The Northern Isles are nowadays seen as a peripheral region within Scotland and the UK, whereas historically they were at the crossroads of maritime cultural, political and economic systems, a heritage involving geo-cultural affinities reaching beyond present-day political boundaries. As small islands in a maritime ecosystem exposed to challenging climate conditions, they are physically vulnerable, while demographic and economic factors add to the vulnerability of their human ecology. Understanding the maritime heritages of the Northern Isles from an integrated perspective as a cultural resource for sustainability opens up opportunities for community development more generally, and specifically for the creation of sustainable tourism. By achieving such an integrated perspective, grounded in community co-curated work, the Northern Isles may serve as a model for other maritime and peripheral regions.
Cait is a full-time PhD Student, supported by a Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities Applied Research Collaborative Studentship.
The thesis is supervised as part of a collaboration between
- Intercultural Research Centre, Heriot-Watt University
- Institute for Northern Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands
- Shetland Museums and Archives
- Learning for Sustainability Scotland
Cait is co-supervised by Prof Donna Heddle and Prof Ullrich Kockel.
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