'Living heritage' and living heritage: the ontology and experience of cultural landscapes in the English Lake District

The Lake District National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site nominee under the theme of 'cultural landscape'. This recognises the heritage value of landscapes born of human-environment interactions and where they remain produced by traditional practices are categorised as 'Living' Cultural Landscapes (Goio & Gios, 2011). Under such designations conflicts often arise between the imperative for heritage preservation and the dynamic nature of social life (Miura, 2005). Management of such sites therefore requires agreement among multiple stakeholders (Mitchell et al, 2009). Drawing conceptually on work in geography and anthropology the PhD aims to problematize the concept of 'living cultural landscape' by analysing its varied interpretation and mobilisation by the range of stakeholders whose lives are intimately enfolded with the land. The PhD will combine ethnographic fieldwork among farmers and other groups (participant observation, interviews, heritage diaries) with discourse analysis of official documents.