Valuing the Historic Environment: Concepts, Instrumentalisations and Effects

Our aim in applying for funding for this research network is to enable a new, cross disciplinary forum for the discussion of frameworks of value in relation to the preservation of historic environments. This will lead to further research connections, collaborations, opportunities and outputs, with the potential to influence academic debate and policy formulation. We will achieve this network of discussion through a series of colloquia and an online wiki.We start from the premise that heritage values are culturally and historically constructed. Discussion in the network will examine the following key issues: the implications for preservation of pluralist frameworks of value; the social and economic consequences of constructions of value and their instrumentalisation; how to balance between a responsive, democratic conception of heritage and pressure to become a delivery mechanism for other social and economic objectives; and, the practicalities of managing the uncertainty and fluidity that is a consequence of pluralist conceptions of heritage.Thus, in our research cluster we will engage with the fluidity and contingent nature of value and the consequences of the way this is constructed for communities and individuals, the way it is mobilised to address other policy agendas and the practical consequences and difficulties such fluidity creates for strategies of management. In doing this we will aim to connect different disciplinary perspectives and the perspectives of non-HEIs.Due to the basis of the network's understanding of the historically specific nature of value we have selected some of the core participants on the basis of their historical understanding of conceptions of value. We also understand value as being specific to cultural orientations and therefore have selected some participants who have an expert understanding of different communities and their systems of value and others who can contextualise the protection of the historic environment in terms of a wider series of social, economic and governance processes. A number of contributors bring expertise on fabric from a variety of perspectives, including Geomorphology and Archaeological conservation. We further believe it is important for this discussion to be grounded in a consideration of contemporary policy contexts and cultural politics and the active involvement of non-HEI's is crucial in this respect. Strong non-HEI participation will ensure that the challenge of discussing the preservation of the historic environment in terms which can feed into and influence contemporary policy formulation will be met.In the first instance we are committed to facilitating a research cluster which will result in genuinely inter-disciplinary discussion which is grounded in the practicalities of managing historic environments. Secondly, we wish to establish a cluster and facilitate activities in such as way as to establish the potential for future research activity after the funded element of the cluster programme is complete. The cluster commences on the basis of 15 core participants. However, as the operation of the cluster progresses more people will become core cluster participants. The cluster will meet at 3 one day colloquia which will occur over a 15 month period commencing after October 2006. Each of the colloquia will be concerned with particular subject areas to do with value and the historic environment, these will be 'Heritage of the Recent Past'; 'Heritage, Housing and Home'; and, 'Museums, museumisation and historic environments'. These will help focus debate and have a relevance and importance in themselves while at the same time being a vehicle for the exploration of the key questions. Thus each colloquium provides a 'window' for considering fundamental issues. The core cluster participants will attend all 3 colloquia. We aim to ensure that each colloquia is focused but not to such as extent that the cross-disciplinary nature of debate is comp