Towards novel methods for environmental and social sustainability in the future
The UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University gets a new addition. Dr Leila Papoli-Yazdi will research the dirty heritage of modern civilization; garbage, waste, and consumption — particularly to develop novel methods towards environmental and social sustainability in the future. She will spend one year at Linnaeus University, contributing to the already unique research profile on Heritage Futures.
During Dr Papoli-Yazdi’s PhD research in archaeology at the University of Tehran, she co-directed a project in Bam, a southeastern Iranian city destroyed in a dramatic earthquake in 2003. It was introduced as pioneering in the field of Archaeology of the recent past in the Middle East. She has also directed several research projects in Pakistan, Kuwait, and Iran.
Post-2009 election conflicts in Iran made Papoli-Yazdi leave for a post-doc fellowship in Germany, supported by the Humboldt Foundation. Subsequently, after submitting an application to SAR (Scholars at Risk), she worked at the University of Gothenburg. In February 2021, Papoli-Yazdi joined the Department of Cultural Sciences at Linnaeus University, where she will continue for one year.
“I am delighted to work at Linnaeus University and contribute to the unique research profile on Heritage Futures. My research highlights the dark heritage of oppression of voiceless and forgotten people by applying various methods of archaeology such as garbology and disaster archaeology. The main themes of my work are oppression, gender, discrimination, and violence”, says Papoli-Yazdi.
Professor Cornelius Holtorf holds the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, and he is pleased with the new addition.
“This new appointment will extend our unique research profile and contribute to the development of the Chair. With Dr Leila Papoli-Yazdi’s work, we will be able to strengthen our commitment to develop novel methods towards environmental and social sustainability in the future”, says Holtorf.
Dr Papoli-Yazdi’s contribution will make an impact that goes beyond the Chair as well, says Holtorf.
“It will also strengthen internationalization at Linnaeus University and in particular our global perspective in research which are important priorities for us”.
Contact
Leila Papoli-Yazdi, doctor of archaeology, leila.papoli-yazdi@lnu.se
Cornelius Holtorf, professor of archaeology, cornelius.holtorf@lnu.se
About the UNESCO Chair
The UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University is the only one of its kind. It deals with the roles of heritage in managing the relations between present and future societies. The Chair was established in Kalmar in 2017.