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Staff Profile

Professor Christopher Whitehead

Professor of Museology

  • Email: chris.whitehead@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 5985
  • Address: School of Arts and Cultures
    Armstrong Building
    缅北禁地
    缅北禁地 Upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
Background

Background


My academic background is in art history and museum and heritage studies. I have also worked as a museum curator. I was formerly Head of Media, Culture Heritage, Global Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global). I co-authored 缅北禁地's current Global Strategy. I have held visiting positions at the University of Oslo, Aarhus University and the Australian National University, where I am Honorary Professor at the Humanities Research Centre.


Research

Research Interests

My scholarship is grounded in art history, museum studies, critical heritage studies, and memory studies. I borrow approaches and interests from anthropology, geography, cultural theory, political science, design research, digital cultures and the theory of history. Most of my current work explores heritage, memory and geopolitics, affect and emotion, ontology and epistemology, social conflict, and historical consciousness. I have led UKRI and EU awards on migration and museums, European heritage politics, and community heritages. I am currently at the beginning of a new strand of work on forests, linking heritage studies, new materialism, creative ethnography, and interests from the developing field of arboreal humanities.

 

I have written or edited books on:

  •  (Routledge 2005)
  •  (Bloomsbury 2009)
  •  (Routledge 2012).
  •  (Ashgate/Routledge 2015)
  • , (Routledge 2019)
  •  (Routledge 2021)
  • (2024)
  • (Routledge 2024)

 

Postgraduate Supervision

I am currently supervising the following doctoral research projects

  • Posthuman and New Materialist Perspectives on the Rock Tombs of Kaș (Yelyzaveta Nesterova)
  • Museums of Peace (Natalie Heidaripour)
  • Visitor Experience at Australian Community Museums (Brian Kalms) [at Australian National University]

 

I have supervised Claire Pike, Susannah Eckersley, Gabriella Petkova, Pamela Erskine-Loftus, Alex Elwick, Yun-ju Chen, Bronwen Colquhoun, Emma Coffield, Gabriella Arrigoni, Carolyn Gibeson, Rebecca Farley, Jen Locke, Tom Hopkin, David Farrell-Banks, Briony Carlin, Alistair Robinson, Hannah Marsden, and Muhammed Topdaş, all of whom have successfully completed their PhDs.

 

Work with the heritage sector

All of my scholarly work is in some way intended to benefit the sector and cultural policy makers, including the provision of recommendations for practice, training, and building reflexive awareness of key issues (both past and present) for museums, galleries, heritage and society. I have co-produced exhibitions, such as the permanent display 'Northern Spirit' at the Laing Art Gallery, and have provided advice for museums, national governments and for the EU. I am an active contributor to international and European ICOM workshops. In 2017 I was a member of the Scientific Committee for the International Museum Day theme of 'Museums and Contested Histories'. I work closely with the . In 2025 I was invited to participate in the advisory meeting of the Council of Europe's 'Cultural Routes' programme. In 2026 I reviewed the research strategies of the Royal Museums for Art and History in Belgium.

 

Keywords 

heritage; museums; memory; cultural and social theory and politics; affect and emotion; art curatorship; art theory; epistemology; display; art interpretation; museum history; social constructionism; ontologies; new materialism; disciplinarity; place; time; migration; EU; difficult history; uses of the past; cultural politics; identity; representation; communities; co-production, forests; arboreal humanities.


 

Teaching

I teach across the Museum, Gallery and Heritage Studies programmes. I have also led modules in Visual Culture and History of Art.


Publications

  • Articles

    • Daugbjerg M, Whitehead C. . Memory Studies 2024, 17(2), 403-426.
    • Whitehead C, Coffield E. . Museum and Society 2018, 16(2), 240-259.
    • Whitehead C, Eckersley S, Bozoglu G. . Economia della Cultura 2018, XXVIII(4), 551-566.
    • Schofield T, Foster-Smith D, Bozoglu G, Whitehead C. . Open Library of Humanities 2018, 4(1), 35-35.
    • Whitehead C, Bozoğlu G. . Heritage and Society 2016, 9(2), 111-136.
    • Whitehead C. . Nordisk Museologi 2015, (2), 146-154.
    • Newman A, Goulding A, Whitehead C. . International Journal of Heritage Studies 2014, 20(4), 432-453.
    • McCarthy C, Mason R, Whitehead C, Parby J, Cicalo A, Schorch P, Witz L, Gonzalez PA, Roux N, Ambos E, Rassool C. . Museum Worlds: Advances in Research 2013, 1(1), 179–194.
    • Newman A, Goulding A, Whitehead C. . Poetics 2013, 41(5), 456-480.
    • Newman A, Goulding A, Whitehead C. . Cultural Trends 2012, 21(1), 29-45.
    • Buckley B, Goulding A, Newman A, Pringle E, Whitehead C. . Engage Journal 2011, 27, 12-26.
    • Alberti S, Whitehead C, eds. . Museum & Society 2008, 6(2).
    • Whitehead C. . Studies in Travel Writing 2006, 10(1), 1-26.
    • Whitehead C. . Architectural History 2005, 48, 207-234.
    • Whitehead C. . Journal of Urban History 2005, 31(6).
    • Whitehead C. . Museum and Society 2005, 3(3), 181-182.
    • Whitehead C. . Journal of the History of Collections 2005, 17(2), 189-211.
    • Whitehead C. . European Insights (International Museum Theatre Alliance Europe 2003, 5(1), 2-4.
    • Whitehead C. Archival Sources for the Study of the Eighteenth-Century Anglo-Italian Marble Trade. The Sculpture Journal 1999, 44-53.
    • M. Barnes and C. Whitehead. The “Suggestiveness” of Roman Architecture: Henry Cole and Pietro Dovizielli’s Photographic Survey of 1859. Architectural History 1998, 41.
    • C. Whitehead. Systems of Display and Object Communication in Italian Museums: the territory exhibited. Museological Review 1997, 4, pp. 29-40.

  • Authored Books

    • Whitehead C. . London and New York: Routledge, 2024.
    • Whitehead C, Schofield T, Bozoglu G. . Abingdon: Routledge, 2021.
    • Whitehead C, Eckersley S, Mason R. . Milan: Politecnico di Milano DPA, 2012.
    • Whitehead C. . London: Routledge, 2012.
    • Whitehead C. . London: Duckworth, 2009.
    • Goulding A, Newman A, Whitehead C. . London: London Museums Hub, 2008.
    • Whitehead C. . Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.

  • Book Chapters

    • Whitehead C, Lanz F. . In: Golding V; Walklate J, ed. Museums and Communities: Diversity, Dialogue and Collaboration in an Age of Migrations. 缅北禁地 upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2019, pp.20-41.
    • Lanz F, Whitehead C. . In: Dogramaci, B; Mersmann, B, ed. Handbook of Art and Global Migration: Theories, Practices, and Challenges. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2019, pp.331-348.
    • Bozoglu G, Whitehead C. . In: Brita Brenna, Hans Dam Christensen, Olav Hamran, ed. Museums as Cultures of Copies: The Crafting of Artefacts and Authenticity. Oxon: Routledge, 2018.
    • McCarthy C, Mason R, Whitehead C, Parby JI, Cicalo A, Schorch P, Witz L, Gonzalez PA, Roux N, Ambos E, Rassool C. . In: Watson, S.; Barnes, A.J.; Bunning, K, ed. A Museum Studies Approach to Heritage. London, UK: Taylor and Francis, 2018, pp.543-558.
    • Allen A, Bak J, Whitehead C, Gauthier D. . In: Basso Perresut, L; Colombo, C; Postiglione, G, ed. Museum Multiplicities: Field Actions and Research by Design. Milan: Politecnico di Milano, 2015, pp.95-113.
    • Whitehead C, Mason R, Eckersley S, Lloyd K. . In: Whitehead C; Lloyd K; Eckersley S; Mason R, ed. Museums, Migration and Identity in Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2015, pp.7-59.
    • Whitehead C, Bozoglu G. . In: Whitehead, C; Lloyd, K; Eckersley, S; Mason, R, ed. Museums, Migration and Identity in Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2015, pp.253-284.
    • Mason R, Whitehead C, Graham H. . In: Golding, V., Modest, W, ed. Museums and Communities: Curators, Collections and Collaboration. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2013, pp.163-177.
    • Mason R, Whitehead C, Graham H. . In: Davis, P., Corsane, G., Convery, I, ed. Making Sense of Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2012, pp.133-144.
    • Whitehead C, Mason R. . In: Basso Peressut, L., Pozzi, C, ed. European Museums in an Age of Migrations. Questions, Challenges, Perspectives. Milan: DPA Press, 2012, pp.153-160.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Hill, K, ed. Museums and Biographies: Stories, Objects, Identities. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2012, pp.157-172.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Fritsch, J, ed. Museum Gallery Interpretation and Material Culture. London: Routledge, 2011.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Knell, S., Aronsson, P., Amundsen, A.B., Barnes, A.J., Burch, S., Carter, J., Gosselin, V., Hughes, S.A., Kirwan, A, ed. National Museums: New Studies from around the World. London: Routledge, 2011, pp.105-122.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Peralta E; Anico M, ed. Heritage and Identity: Engagement and Demission in the Contemporary World. Abingdon: Routledge, 2009, pp.29-46.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Evaluating the Impact of Arts and Cultural Education on Young People: A European and International Research Symposium. Paris: La Documentation Francais, Centre Pompidou, 2008, pp.421-429.
    • Goulding A, Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Taylor B; Houghton N, ed. Inspiring Learning in Galleries. London: Engage, 2008.
    • Goulding A, Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Taylor B, ed. Inspiring Learning in Galleries 02: Research Reports. London: Engage, 2008.
    • Goulding A, Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Taylor B, ed. Inspiring Learning in Galleries 02: Research Reports. London: Engage, 2008, pp.92-117.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Évaluer les effets de l’éducation artistique et culturelle. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou ; La Documentation française, 2008, pp.441-449.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Knell, SJ; Macleod, S; Watson, S, ed. Museum Revolutions: How museums change and are changed. London and New York: Routledge, 2007, pp.48-60.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . In: Taylor, B, ed. Inspiring Learning in Galleries. London: Engage, 2006, pp.122-155.
    • Whitehead C. . In: G. Corsane, ed. Heritage, Museums and Galleries: an introductory reader. London: Routledge, 2004, pp.89-99.
    • Pratt L, Whitehead C. . In: Making Buildings: Exhibition Catalogue. London: Crafts Council, 2001.
    • Whitehead C. . In: Yarrington, A., Sicca Bursill-Hall, C, ed. The Lustrous Trade: Material Culture and the History of Sculpture in England and Italy, c.1700-c.1860. London, UK: Leicester University Press, 2000, pp.222-239.
    • C. Whitehead. Gustav Friedrich Waagen’s Museographical System of 1853’, Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore. In: Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, ed. Scritti in Onore del Kunsthistorisches Institut. 1996, pp.425-40.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Schofield T, Foster-Smith D, Bozoğlu G, Whitehead C. . In: ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2019, Glasgow, UK: ACM.
    • Allen J, Paiva DS, Descure C, Whitehead C, Bak J. . In: UbiComp 2014 - Adjunct Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing. 2014, Seattle, Washington: Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

  • Edited Books

    • Bozoglu G, Campbell G, Smith L, Whitehead C, ed. . London and New York: Routledge, 2024.
    • Whitehead C, Eckersley S, Daugbjerg M, Bozoğlu G, ed. . Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2020.
    • Whitehead C, Eckersley S, Lloyd K, Mason R, ed. . London: Routledge, 2015.
    • Whitehead C, Mason R, Eckersley S, Lloyd K, ed. . Milan: Politecnico di Milano, 2013.

  • Editorial

    • Whitehead C, Lanz F. . TRACES 2017, 2.

  • Exhibition

    • Mason R, Whitehead C, Graham H. . 2010. 缅北禁地 upon Tyne: Laing Art Gallery.

  • Letter

    • Whitehead C. . Architectural Research Quarterly 2005, 8(3-4), 202-203.

  • Online Publications

    • Whitehead C. . History Workshop, 2018. Available at: .
    • Whitehead C. . European Commission, 2017. Available at: .
    • Whitehead C. . 2016. Available at: .
    • Whitehead C. . 缅北禁地, 2016. Available at: .

  • Reports

    • Whitehead C, Mason R, Eckersley S, Lloyd K. . Milan: Politenico di Milano, 2014.
    • Goulding A, Newman A, Whitehead C. . 2008.
    • Buckley B, Goulding A, Newman A, Pringle E, Whitehead C. . 2007.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . Engage, 2006.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . Gateshead, UK: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, 2006.
    • Newman A, Whitehead C. . BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, 2006.

  • Reviews

    • Whitehead C, Bozoglu G. . CoHERE Critical Archive 2017, 1-23.
    • Whitehead C. . Curator 2012, 55(4), 507-510.
    • Whitehead C. . Journal of the History of Collections 2012, 24(1), 136-137.
    • Whitehead C. . Journal of British Studies 2008, 47(2), 410-413.