Bethan Coupland
Discipline: History
Research Centre/Unit: Humanities
Project Summary
My PhD thesis explored the post-industrial transition to heritage in mining communities in Wales and Cornwall, using oral history to evaluate the relationship between heritage and memory (in various forms). Empirically, the work involved a comparative study of the development of two prominent heritage sites: Big Pit coal mine in Blaenafon (South Wales) and Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall, drawing on original oral histories (including with curators, ex-miners and members of the local communities) along with local archive sources.My PhD thesis explored the post-industrial transition to heritage in mining communities in Wales and Cornwall, using oral history to evaluate the relationship between heritage and memory (in various forms). Empirically, the work involved a comparative study of the development of two prominent heritage sites: Big Pit coal mine in Blaenafon (South Wales) and Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall, drawing on original oral histories (including with curators, ex-miners and members of the local communities) along with local archive sources.
Supervisory Team
First Supervisor: AProf Anna Green, Victoria University of Wellington (History, formerly University of Exeter)
Second Supervisor: Dr Bernard Deacon, University of Exeter (Cornish Studies)
Mentor: Prof Alan Booth
Wider Research Interests
My research interests are in broadly the fields of public history, oral history and memory. Alongside my PhD research, I have been interested in reconceptualising the relationship between Oral History and Public History in theoretical terms based on research carried out comparing American approaches to public historical work, in both theoretical and practical senses.