Archaeology, Heritage and Society with Dr. Işılay Gürsu

In this episode, Dr. Peter Cherry interviews Dr. Işılay Gürsu about her research on public archaeology and cultural heritage. The relationship between archaeology, heritage, and society—the central theme of her recently published book, Public Dialogues in Archaeology: New Methodologies from Turkey—is at the heart of their discussion. Dr. Gürsu reflects on her work in Pisidia, including the Pisidia Heritage Trail, as well as projects such as Living Amid the Ruins and SARAT (Safeguarding Archaeological Assets of Turkey). They also discuss the value of interdisciplinary research and the experience of communicating research beyond academia through the Heritage Türkiye podcast. Throughout the episode, they explore how their research interests intersect and how Dr. Gürsu's approach to archaeology and heritage draws on a wide range of fields across the social sciences and humanities, from social anthropology and sociology to psychology and literature.