Esther Breithoff
Biographic Data
| ID | 652061 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Esther Breithoff |
| GIVEN NAMES | Esther |
| FAMILY NAME | Breithoff |
| SIGNATURE | BREITHOFF E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7350-4467 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Itaipu industrial complex
In this paper I examine the Itaipu Dam in Paraguay as an industrial heritage complex comprising energy infrastructure, environmental governance, and conservation landscapes. Through the submergence of the Guairá Falls and the displacement of Avá Guaraní communities, I argue that the dam exemplifies “authoritarian terraforming,” the large-scale remaking of landscapes and lifeworlds as part of state-led development. Within this context, I introduce…
From Bombs to Bracelets
Ecologies of Violence
The Ecologies of Violence project examines how war and state violence generate lasting human and more-than-human entanglements that disrupt conventional heritage frameworks. Through international and interdisciplinary case studies, it reveals how structural violence creates involuntary heritage and exclusion zones that call for a planetary, ecological archaeology attuned to the multispecies, (im)material, temporal and sociopolitical complexities …
Underground (Heritage) Futures? Reimagining the Violent Ecologies of Subterranean Conflict in the Age of Climate Change
This paper explores the entangled legacies of subterranean conflict landscapes, focusing on the extensive tunnel systems beneath Vimy Ridge on the First World War's Western Front. Arguing against the traditional view of the underground as inert military infrastructure, it conceptualises these tunnels as dynamic ‘ecologies of violence’ (Breithoff Citation2025a) involving both human and more-than-human actors. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarsh…
Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco
Book synopsis: Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco documents and interprets the physical remains and afterlives of the Chaco War (1932-35) – known as South America’s first ‘modern’ armed conflict – in what is now present-day Paraguay. Esther Breithoff focuses not only on archaeological remains as conventionally understood, but takes an ontological approach to heterogeneous assemblages of objects, texts, practices and landscapes shape…
From ark to bank
This paper takes a critical approach to understanding the social and cultural\n‘work’ of natural heritage conservation, focussing specifically on ex-situ\nbiodiversity cryopreservation practices. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork\nwith the Frozen Ark, a UK-based ‘frozen zoo’ aiming to preserve the DNA of\nendangered animal species, the paper situates the development of nonhuman animal biobanks in relation to current anxieties regarding the\nantic…
Cultural heritage, ethics, and the military
"Cultural heritage, ethics, and the military." International Journal of Heritage Studies, 23(4), pp. 395–396
Archaeologies of the Contemporary World
Archaeologists have long been interested in contemporary material culture, but only recently has a dedicated subfield of archaeology of the contemporary world begun to emerge. This article considers how the subfield might be characterized by its approaches to particular sources and its current and emerging thematic foci. A significant point of debate concerns the role of archaeology as a discipline through which to explore ongoing, contemporary s…
Archaeologies of the Contemporary World
Archaeologists have long been interested in contemporary material culture, but only recently has a dedicated subfield of archaeology of the contemporary world begun to emerge. This article considers how the subfield might be characterized by its approaches to particular sources and its current and emerging thematic foci. A significant point of debate concerns the role of archaeology as a discipline through which to explore ongoing, contemporary s…
From ark to bank
This paper takes a critical approach to understanding the social and cultural\n‘work’ of natural heritage conservation, focussing specifically on ex-situ\nbiodiversity cryopreservation practices. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork\nwith the Frozen Ark, a UK-based ‘frozen zoo’ aiming to preserve the DNA of\nendangered animal species, the paper situates the development of nonhuman animal biobanks in relation to current anxieties regarding the\nantic…
Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco
Book synopsis: Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco documents and interprets the physical remains and afterlives of the Chaco War (1932-35) – known as South America’s first ‘modern’ armed conflict – in what is now present-day Paraguay. Esther Breithoff focuses not only on archaeological remains as conventionally understood, but takes an ontological approach to heterogeneous assemblages of objects, texts, practices and landscapes shape…
Cultural heritage, ethics, and the military
"Cultural heritage, ethics, and the military." International Journal of Heritage Studies, 23(4), pp. 395–396
Archaeologies of the Contemporary World
Archaeologists have long been interested in contemporary material culture, but only recently has a dedicated subfield of archaeology of the contemporary world begun to emerge. This article considers how the subfield might be characterized by its approaches to particular sources and its current and emerging thematic foci. A significant point of debate concerns the role of archaeology as a discipline through which to explore ongoing, contemporary s…
Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco
Book synopsis: Conflict, Heritage and World-Making in the Chaco documents and interprets the physical remains and afterlives of the Chaco War (1932-35) – known as South America’s first ‘modern’ armed conflict – in what is now present-day Paraguay. Esther Breithoff focuses not only on archaeological remains as conventionally understood, but takes an ontological approach to heterogeneous assemblages of objects, texts, practices and landscapes shape…
From ark to bank
This paper takes a critical approach to understanding the social and cultural\n‘work’ of natural heritage conservation, focussing specifically on ex-situ\nbiodiversity cryopreservation practices. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork\nwith the Frozen Ark, a UK-based ‘frozen zoo’ aiming to preserve the DNA of\nendangered animal species, the paper situates the development of nonhuman animal biobanks in relation to current anxieties regarding the\nantic…
Underground (Heritage) Futures? Reimagining the Violent Ecologies of Subterranean Conflict in the Age of Climate Change
This paper explores the entangled legacies of subterranean conflict landscapes, focusing on the extensive tunnel systems beneath Vimy Ridge on the First World War's Western Front. Arguing against the traditional view of the underground as inert military infrastructure, it conceptualises these tunnels as dynamic ‘ecologies of violence’ (Breithoff Citation2025a) involving both human and more-than-human actors. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarsh…
From Bombs to Bracelets
Ecologies of Violence
The Ecologies of Violence project examines how war and state violence generate lasting human and more-than-human entanglements that disrupt conventional heritage frameworks. Through international and interdisciplinary case studies, it reveals how structural violence creates involuntary heritage and exclusion zones that call for a planetary, ecological archaeology attuned to the multispecies, (im)material, temporal and sociopolitical complexities …
The Itaipu industrial complex
In this paper I examine the Itaipu Dam in Paraguay as an industrial heritage complex comprising energy infrastructure, environmental governance, and conservation landscapes. Through the submergence of the Guairá Falls and the displacement of Avá Guaraní communities, I argue that the dam exemplifies “authoritarian terraforming,” the large-scale remaking of landscapes and lifeworlds as part of state-led development. Within this context, I introduce…
Archaeology (4 works) · Cultural heritage (4 works) · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation (4 works) · Environmental ethics (4 works) · History (4 works) · Geographies of human-animal interactions (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Political science (3 works) · Sociology (3 works)