THE BATTLE of Bannockburn, wind farms and World War II are all being put under the spotlight during a two day event at the University of Stirling.
“The Landscapes of Conflict” conference takes place next month - with local people being encouraged to drop in and attend the free event.
The conference, in the University’s Pathfoot building, will be launched by Scots Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop on Friday, 7 June.
Dr. Catherine Mills, who’s helping to organise the event - said: “We’ve organised a variety of international speakers. They’ll be looking at how landscapes influence both civil and military conflicts, today and in the past. We’ll be discussing everything from the Battle of Bannockburn to modern-day conflicts over wind farms.
“The event is open to everyone – from the general public to post-graduate students and senior academics. We hope local people will drop in for some or all of the sessions. The full programme is now online at www.stir.ac.uk/landscapes . There’s no need to pre-book, just come to our Pathfoot building on the day.”
The conference will also bring Orkney-based artist Alistair Peebles’ new works to the University, for an exhibition titled “Blueprints”. Again this exhibition will be open to the public.
Said Catherine: “We’re running the event over three half-day sessions, on Friday 7 June and Saturday 8 June. We’re particularly pleased that Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, is opening the conference.
“The first afternoon we’ll discuss heritage, identity and place. Professor Ian Simpson, Head of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling, will lead discussions. We’ll end the first day with the opening of the ‘Blueprints’ exhibition at 5.30 p.m.
“The next morning – Saturday 8 June – we’ll explore access and resources, including discussions on wind and nuclear energy. Then we’ll finish that afternoon with speakers discussing military spaces. For instance, we’ll look at the effects of armed conflict on landscapes, including the pollution caused locally by activities in World War II.”
The full programme is available here (PDF). This may be subject to late change.
The free event has been organised by the University’s Centre for Environmental History and Policy (CEHP) – which combines the best research in humanities and sciences to further advance knowledge and understanding of the environment.
Dr Paul Adderley, the Centre’s director, said: “This innovative event emphasises that by combining science-led and historical understandings of our environment we can see the depth of human involvement in creating the landscape that we witness today. This depth may include periods of conflict and it is important that we recognise this.”
For further information on the “Landscapes of Conflict” event contact Paul Adderley, email w.p.adderley@stir.ac.uk, telephone 01786 467861; or Catherine Mills, email c.j.mills@stir.ac.uk, telephone 01786 467583.