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About Elizabeth Brabec

Culture and heritage, and how they affect our perceptions of land and nature are central to my research. My research focuses on the role of heritage in identifying our place in the world, a critically important understanding given the forces of migration and displacement that are facing us due to armed conflict and the impacts of climate change.  I study the role of land, our connection to it and how we organize our communities within it, particularly in the realm of urban agriculture and food systems.  Cultural landscapes and the heritage embodied within them, landscapes produced by the interaction between humans and nature, are key to sustainable development practices.   Since different cultures have very different ways of shaping their communities and understanding nature, I work cross-culturally with communities in the United States and in locations around the world including: Canada, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belize, and the Bahamas. Understanding other cultures illuminates our own, and understanding indigenous and traditional lifeways can often lead to the reemergence of sustainable practices.

I am a Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts, and Director of the Center for Heritage and Society (https://umass.edu/chs).  From 2015 though 2020, I served as the editor of the Taylor & Francis journal, Heritage & Society, focusing on research that expands the role of heritage in contemporary life.  A member of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), I serve as President and an expert member of the ISCCL (International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes) of ICOMOS and a member of the ICOMOS Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Working Group.

Before joining the University of Massachusetts as a Professor and Department Head, I served as Professor and Department Head in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University and as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment. With a Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, I founded and managed the landscape planning firm, Land Ethics, Inc. until 2002.

Positions

2015 - Present Director of the Center for Heritage & Society, University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Heritage & Society
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Present Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
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Present Research Associate, Czech University of Life Sciences (Ceska Zemedelska Univerzita v Praze) ‐ Faculty of Environmental Sciences
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2007 - 2013 Department Head, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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2004 - 2007 Department Head and Professor, Utah State University ‐ Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
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2002 - 2004 Principal, Johnson Hill - Land Ethics Studio
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1997 - 2004 Associate Professor, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor ‐ School of Natural Resources and the Environment
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1986 - 2002 President and Founder, Land Ethics, Inc.
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1984 - 1986 Historic Preservation and Community Development Planner, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
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Editor, Taylor and Francis Publishing ‐ Heritage & Society (Journal)
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Curriculum Vitae




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Professional Service and Affiliations

2020 - Present Secretary General, International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes (ISCCL) of ICOMOS
2017 - 2021 Editor, Heritage & Society, a Taylor and Francis Journal
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Courses

  • History of Landscape 1
  • Land Use Policy
  • Cultural Landscapes: Documentation, Management and Policy

Education

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1992 Juris Doctor, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
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1984 Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Guelph ‐ Department of Landscape Architecture
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1981 Bachelor of Science with honors, University of Guelph
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Contact Information

office: 349 Design Building
mailing address:
210 Design Building
University of Massachusetts
551 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA  01003-2901

Email:



Heritage, Climate Change, Cultural Landscapes and Their Role in Resilient Communities (17)

Cultural Resource Documentation and Planning (24)