Nélia Dias and Mounir Sabeh Affaki have published the article “From exhibiting minerals to narrating extraction: reflections from Lisbon’s National Museum of Science and Natural History” in the International Journal of Heritage Studies. This paper focuses on two mineral exhibitions currently held at the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MUHNAC) and aims to…
This policy brief responds to how petrocultures—cultural practices shaped by fossil fuel dependency—have historically influenced and continue to inform cultural heritage narratives. It highlights how heritage institutions have long normalized foregrounding industrial progress narratives while sidelining environmental justice and colonial legacies. Drawing on interdisciplinary evidence from energy humanities, heritage studies, and critical historical analyses, the brief…
Mounir Sabeh Affaki (ISCTE) has published the article “From extraction to engagement: Post-mining transition and science communication in Lousal, Portugal” in the journal The Extractive Industries and Society based on his PITCH work. The article is available to read Open Access. Former mining sites are increasingly tasked with mediating extractive pasts while engaging publics with contemporary…
PITCH member Rodney Harrison (UCL) has published an article on coal mining-related industrial heritage sites in the UK in the context of the conjuncture of the fortieth anniversary of the 1984–1985 UK miners’ strike, the closure of the last coal-fired power station in the UK and contemporary global transitions away from fossil fuels. Harrison analyzes…
PITCH members Dolly Jørgensen (UiS) and Nora Thorade (German Museum of Technology) have jointly published a new article on history of technology museums and their inherent yet unseen petrocultures. Using case studies in Germany and South Korea, the authors argue that technological progress narratives in history of technology museums are built on unseen carbon cultures,…
To what extent can the distinct carbon cultural heritage practices, narratives, and policies in the six European countries covered by the PITCH project be classified under the umbrella of ‘styles’? PITCH has written a booklet presenting case studies that highlight how historical circumstances, geological features, policies, funding, institutional structures, social values, and narratives shape the…
One of the major outputs of this Work Package is an Annotated Bibliography of relevant literature for examining the intersection of petrocultures and cultural heritage. The bibliography comprises a wide range of sources, including books, edited volumes, peer-reviewed articles, reports, and case studies. While it has a global scope, it places particular emphasis on European…
A glossary of PITCH concepts is now available. In Making Sense of Carbon Cultures and Cultural Heritage, our PITCHteam outlines the main terms that are being deployed in our analysis and interventions.
An important aspect of this project is encouraging cultural heritage institutions to seriously consider the simultaneous rise of petrocultures and heritage cultures and their inter-relationships through their own collections. To pilot how this might be done, Lusto, Finland’s national forest museum with one of the largest dedicated forestry-specific collections in the world, is investigating the…
