Bethan Coupland
Telephone: 01392724297
College: College of Humanities
Research Centre/Unit: Humanities
I have recently completed my PhD which analysed the interaction of heritage and memory at two prominent mining heritage sites in Wales and Cornwall. This research began with an interest in how certain aspects of the past come to be preserved and represented in the public domain and how this relates to the way in which people remember and narrate their own pasts. After gaining my Masters' in History Research at the University of Nottingham in 2009, I returned to Exeter to undertake my doctoral research. Although based in the History department in Exeter, I have strong links with the Cornish Studies Centre at the Tremough Campus where I have also undertaken research and teaching.
After spending some time in the United States on a visiting scholarship to Brown University, I developed a particular interest in public history, in both theory and practice. Importantly, my experiences have not only heightened my awareness of the ways in which history should have a social impact, but, in practical terms, I have learned certain approaches to balancing the inherently diverse and complex demands of academics, cultural institutions, communities and what we refer to as ‘the public’. Personally, I am committed to continuing research and teaching in the field throughout my academic career, hoping to promote critical engagement with the many ways in which the past is meaningful beyond the study of academic History.
Having recently completed my doctorate, I am in the process of writing up aspects of my thesis for publication while seeing some more of the world.
