#ExpertProfile
Professor Matthew Cragoe
University of Lincoln – Visiting Professor, College of Arts
An extremely established specialist in rural history, Professor Matthew Cragoe is Chair of the UK committee for the Man and Biosphere Programme.
As an historian of British rural and landscape history, Matthew has led a major AHRC-funded project into the role played by parliamentary enclosure in reshaping rural relations in eighteenth century Northamptonshire and has written extensively on landed society in Wales.
Professor Cragoe is heavily invested in conservation and sustainable development, and his research embraces a variety of themes in Modern British History including rural history (particularly parliamentary enclosure). He is currently working on two projects, one focused on the history of 18th century cricket, the second involving a survey of the epitaphs used on gravestones since c. 1700 as a means of accessing shifts in popular understandings of death and the possibility of salvation.
Through his role as chair of the Committee for the Man and the Biosphere Programme, Matthew combines his love for the land and sociology as he works to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. The committee bridges the gap between natural and social sciences in order to pool research and make informed decisions about how best to safeguard our natural and managed ecosystems.
Alongside his Fellowships of the Royal Historical Society and of the Learned Society of Wales; until 2019 Matthew was Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Arts at the University of Lincoln. He also chaired the University’s Environment & Sustainability Committee and currently retains a role at the University as a Visiting Professor.
#Institution
University of Lincoln
Visiting Professor, College of Arts
SINCE 2019
#Alma-Matter
University of Oxford
D Phil.
1990 – OXFORD
#Role at UNESCO
Chair of the UK Man and the Biosphere Committee
SINCE 2018
QUOTE
“This recognition acknowledges the Island as an international example of how people and nature can thrive together sustainably, and it gives us hope for the future of ourselves, our children and future generations living in this beautiful place.”
Richard Grogan, Isle of Wight AONB Lead Officer, Speaking alongside Matthew about the Isle of Wight’s bid to become a Biosphere Reserve.
Our accredited experts are selected to advise the UK National Commission for UNESCO on policy matters related to UNESCO.
ROLE AT UNESCO
Professor Matthew Cragoe Chairs the UK committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme.
Institutions
University of Lincoln
Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Arts
FROM 2014 – 2019
University of Sussex
Professor of Modern British History and Head of School (History, Art History and Philosophy)
FROM 2009 – 2014
University of Hertfordshire
Professor of Modern British History
FROM 1993 – 2009
Role at UNESCO
Chair of the UK Committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme
SINCE 2018
COMMISSION
UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme
ESTABLISHED 1971 – PARIS, FRANCE
The MAB programme is an intergovernmental scientific programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. The UK Committee for MAB oversees the programme in the UK, focusing on biosphere reserves around the country.
Publications
SELECTED PUBLISHED WORK
Read some of Matthew’s published work on our website, as well as other material, news and articles
The Parish Elite at Play?
2017
#EnglishHistory
Exploring the ‘middling sort’ in eighteenth-century England – a social group stretching between the labouring classes and the lower reaches of the gentry as they are a key element in discussions of the social, economic and political history of urban England.
Parliamentary enclosure, vermin and the cultural life of English parishes, 1750-1850
14 SEP 2018
#FarmingHistory
Parliamentary enclosure regulated how and where farmers enclosed their land during the 18th and 19th century. Here, Matthew explores how Parish life was affected by this effort to alter the rural landscape from afar.
UK Biospheres
AS OF 2020
#Culture
The UK MAB Committee represents various groups with an interest in biosphere reserves, including representatives from conservation, cultural, economic, education, environmental, and social sectors. Matthew and his team provide oversight of the seven UK biosphere reserves, encouraging research and sustainable interactions between humans and the habitats.
LATEST
QUOTE
“We cannot be complacent and the university is keen to work with other interested people and parties in the city to understand factors affecting the Brayford swans and to help their populations thrive.”
Professor Cragoe, Speaking of the need for habitat protection in Lincoln.
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