Emily Johnston is a PhD Student of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. She represents Young People and Students on the Scottish Archaeology Strategy Committee.
I joined the Scottish Archaeology Strategy Committee (SSAC) as the Young Person’s Representative in 2023, as I wanted to make sure that the voices of young people help to actively shape the archaeology sector in Scotland.
My own route into archaeology started back in primary school, with a class visit to a local museum. Since then, I’ve spent many summers digging in dusty trenches under the Italian sun on research digs, as well as working as a commercial archaeologist here in Scotland, which was a bit wetter. The excitement of questioning whether something is a stone or an artefact has never left me and brought me back to university for an undergraduate and Masters in Archaeology, and, most recently, a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. My research has explored how archaeology and heritage can contribute to wellbeing, identity and a sense of belonging (at its core, why it matters to people) and how we can improve engagement opportunities and accessibility to archaeology.
Day to day, you’ll probably have found me in the PhD office space, surrounded by Post-it notes as I wrote my PhD. My favourite part of this work has been talking with people – community groups and heritage professionals. I’ve been fortunate that the sector has been really encouraging and responsive to my research and my emails/ Teams requests have been always been answered!
I also enjoy being a part of the academic community and try to make it along to the departmental lecture series or workshops or conferences, which allow me to keep up to date with the current research in the field and bounce ideas off other practitioners and researchers. I’ve also been fortunate that many of these opportunities can lead to informal mentoring and advice from those with established careers in the sector – the helpfulness of which cannot be understated. I work closely with my fellow PhD cohort, both in the Edinburgh Archaeology department, as well as across Scotland through student and early career networks, such as the Scottish Archaeology Forum.
I teach on several undergraduate Archaeology and Classics courses, which I really enjoy – teaching offers a great opportunity to connect with the current cohort of students and a unique experience to help nurture their passion and foster their careers in archaeology, by introducing them to the fascinating world of archaeological theory and practice. This experience also keeps me in tune with the priorities and concerns of current students (or the next generation of archaeologists!) and I aim to represent their views through my position on the committee.
These experiences, combined with my experience of working in education and volunteering as Young Archaeologist’s Club leader has shown me how young people engage with archaeology by bringing their own perspectives, experiences and passions to the subject, and how this can influence their future career paths and routes into archaeology.
I’m really interested in the ways that people connect with the past, and how these interests and experiences can connect different generations. I believe that if we want to make archaeology meaningful for future generations, then we need to create more opportunities for young people to share their own stories and see themselves in the past that we uncover, as well as co-create and shape their future involvement. As the Young Person’s Rep on the SSAC, I want to encourage inclusive participation and help to ensure that archaeology in Scotland is accessible, relevant and exciting for all.
