F6: Heritage and/of/on the periphery
Tracks
6
| Tuesday, December 1, 2026 |
| 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM |
| RH102 |
Overview
Stream: Memory, Identity, Migration and Belonging
Paper / Session Submitter
Dr Iain Robertson
Associate Professor Of Historical Geography
University Of The Highlands And Islands; Uk
Heritage and/of/on the periphery.
Summary Abstract
Taking a case study approach, this panel explores the multiple layers and manifestations of the relationship between the complexities and contestations of heritage and periphery. Both are, of course, deeply loaded terms and socio-cultural constructs which can be understood and engaged with in terms of, but not confined to, tourism, externally-derived representations and as consequences of power relations and cultural conflicts. Moreover, to think of periphery is to think of associated terms such as “remote”, “internal colonialism” and “unseen”. All raise issues, to be considered in the panel, around how the past is polished, presented and consumed under such perceptions.
Biographies
Iain Robertson is a historical geographer with an abiding interest in the cultural processes shaping the landscape of twentieth-century Highland Scotland. I think critically about the ways these pasts are put to use in the present, focusing on ‘heritage from below’ and the contested meanings of heritage in the region.
Roy Jones is an historical geographer. His research focuses on how and why places change. He was the lead author of the ‘Heritage and Culture’ entries in the 2009 and 2020 Elsevier Encyclopaedias of Human Geography and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Australian Geographers.
Hamzah Muzaini is a cultural geographer with research interests pertaining to the politics of memory, heritage and commemoration within and across maritime countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. His current work focuses on the heritagisation of vice and morality in select Javanese cities.
Mhairi Ferrier is a PhD student with research interests covering the social and cultural history of modern and contemporary Scotland. Her PhD focuses on understanding the relationship between heritage and taighean-tughaidh (thatched houses) in the Western Isles of Scotland.
