Dr Esther Breithoff
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Overview
Overview
Biography
I joined the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology in 2019 after holding postdoctoral positions at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the UCL Institute of Archaeology. My research spans the fields of Contemporary Archaeology and Critical Heritage Studies and has ranged across a number of different topics—including war, natural and cultural heritage, nuclear and petroleum industries, dictatorships and biobanking—but traces a common set of interests in the relationships between conflicts, resources, recycling and rights across more-than-human worlds in the Anthropocene.
Qualifications
- PhD Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Bristol
- MA Historical Archaeology of the Modern World, University of Bristol
- BA International Archaeology & Hispanic Studies, University College Dublin
Administrative responsibilities
- UBEL DTP Pathway Lead for Archaeology and Heritage
- HCA Research Committee
Professional activities
Editor Journal of Contemporary Archaeology
Member of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Peer Review College
Member of the UKRI AHRC Peer Review College
Member of AHRC Network project ‘The Rise of Private Museums and Heritage in East and Southeast Asia’ (https://museumsasia.blogs.bristol.ac.uk)
Honours and awards
- UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, UKRI, February 2019
- UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Renewal, UKRI, February 2023
- Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) QR “pump priming” allowance, UCL Institute of Archaeology/Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences, November 2019
- ‘Outstanding PhD Thesis’ award for Excellence in Science and Research, Fond National de la Recherche Luxembourg (Luxembourg National Research Fund), November 2017
- Santander Travel Grant Award for Research in Latin America on Business and Economic-related themes, Banco Santander, November 2013
- ‘Best Doctoral Research Thesis’ award for the Faculty of Arts, University of Bristol Research Degrees Exam Board, November 2016
- FNR Luxembourg Aides à la Formation-Recherche PhD Grant scheme , Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg, November 2012
- Santander Travel Grant Award for Research in Latin America on Business and Economic-related themes, Banco Santander , November 2011
ORCID
0000-0002-7350-4467 -
Research
Research
Research interests
- conflict archaeologies
- critical heritage studies
- Anthropocene
- posthumanism
- heritage futures
- (de)colonialism
- material culture
- worlding practices
- waste and recycling
- (non)human rights
Research projects
Material Memories
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Supervision and teaching
Supervision and teaching
Supervision
I welcome enquiries from potential PhD students interested in the archaeology and heritage of recent conflict, and aspects of Contemporary Archaeology and Critical Heritage Studies more broadly.
Current doctoral researchers
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CLAIRE WALSH
Doctoral alumni since 2013-14
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JENNIFER PUTNAM
Teaching
Convener of The Politics of the Past: Heritage in a Changing World MA module
Teaching modules
- Themes and Concepts in Archaeology (SSHC358S7)
- Ruins: The Creation of the Past (SSHC566S6)
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Harrison, R. and Breithoff, Esther (2017) Archaeologies of the contemporary world. Annual Review of Anthropology 46 (1), pp. 203-221. ISSN 0084-6570.
- Breithoff, Esther (2014) Baumgraffiti: Der Zweite Weltkrieg in unseren Wäldern. Archaeologia luxemburgensis 1, pp. 125-129. ISSN 2354-5526.
- Breithoff, Esther (2013) Fortin Boquerón: a conflict landscape past and present. Revista Cadernos do Ceom 26 (38), pp. 65-84. ISSN 1413-8409.
Book
- Breithoff, Esther (2020) Conflict, heritage and world-making in the Chaco: war at the end of the worlds?. London, UK: UCL Press. ISBN 9781787358089.
- Harrison, R. and DeSilvey, C. and Holtorf, C. and Macdonald, S. and Bartolini, N. and Breithoff, Esther and Fredheim, H. and Lyons, A. and May, S. and Morgan, J. and Penrose, S. (2020) Heritage futures: comparative approaches to natural and cultural heritage practices. London, UK: UCL Press. ISBN 9781787356016.
Book Review
- Breithoff, Esther (2020) A Shadow of War: Archaeological Approaches to Uncovering the Darker Sides of Conflict from the 20th Century.
- Breithoff, Esther (2017) Cultural heritage, ethics, and the military.
Book Section
- Breithoff, Esther (2021) Oil matters. In: Bangstad, T.R. and Pétursdóttir, Þ. (eds.) Heritage Ecologies. Archaeological Orientations. London, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138294646. (In Press)
- Breithoff, Esther and Harrison, R. (2020) Making futures in end times: nature conservation in the Anthropocene. In: Harrison, R. and Sterling, C. (eds.) Deterritorializing the Future: Heritage in, of and after the Anthropocene. Critical Climate Change. London, UK: Open Humanities Press. pp. 155-187. ISBN 9781785420887.
- Leonard, M. and Breithoff, Esther (2019) Warfare and the senses: archaeologies of the senses and sensorial archaeologies of recent conflict. In: Skeates, R. and Day, J. (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Sensory Archaeology. Routledge. ISBN 9781138676299.
- Breithoff, Esther (2017) The ‘White Death’: thirst and water in the Chaco War. In: Saunders, N.J. and Cornish, P. (eds.) Modern Conflict and the Senses. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 213-228. ISBN 9780367873233.
- Breithoff, Esther (2016) Engraving conflict: The Chaco War in a shell case. In: Chesterton, B.M. (ed.) The Chaco War: Environment, Ethnicity, and Nationalism. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781474248877.
- Breithoff, Esther (2012) The many faces of the Chaco War : indigenous modernity and conflict archaeology. In: Saunders, N.J. (ed.) Beyond the Dead Horizon: Studies in Modern Conflict Archaeology. Oxbow Books. pp. 146-158. ISBN 9781842174715.
Thesis Biron
- Breithoff, Esther (2015) Conflict landscapes of the Chaco War.