Research
Advanced research in humanity through time
The VGCC’s bi-annual theme “Reckoning with the Past” is structured around five research clusters, with dedicated cluster leads to direct research activities, advance project outcomes, and enhance academic and industry networks of the VGCC and its core members.
One of the main mechanisms by which the Centre will create and sustain an inclusive environment is through the development of focused interdisciplinary research themes on a biennial basis. The themes will bridge cutting edge scholarship with issues in research focused on the Centre’s core focus of ‘Humanity through Time’. The themes will have infrastructural support provided by the Centre and will be renewed on a biennial basis.
The Vere Gordon Childe Centre’s research strategy is based around five research clusters which VGCC members can engage with below.
The impacts of historical legacies raise urgent social, political, and economic concerns in today’s world. By leveraging multiple ways of understanding our past through interdisciplinary and community collaboration, we strive to illuminate the continuum of human experience, gleaning insights to inform contemporary challenges and forge innovative solutions to shape a sustainable trajectory forward.
The tension between human cooperation and conflict has a deep past. By examining past contexts, we uncover the drivers and consequences of collective action and discord. We aim to deepen our understanding of human relationships over the long-term and cultivate strategies for fostering cooperation and resolving conflict.
From human health and food security to migration, economic systems and political instability, climate change has pervasive effects on human societies today and deep into the past. We seek to elucidate how cultural practices and historical processes shape and are shaped by environmental and climatic factors, informing strategies for sustainability, resilience, and adaptiveness.
By examining transformative periods at global and regional scales, we uncover how societal shifts and political, economic, technological and social innovations have shaped human communities through time. Through interdisciplinary approaches, we scrutinize transformative moments and groundbreaking ideas that have shaped societies, fostering a deeper understanding of humanity's dynamic history and its enduring impact.
We investigate the profound significance of human ritual and performance of past societies. Examining cultural practices, religious ceremonies, and social traditions, we aim to unravel their role in shaping identities, fostering community cohesion, and transmitting knowledge through tangible materials and intangible practices across generations.
