Ciara Kierans is a professor of social anthropology and has, through fieldwork in western, Mexico, developed a growing interest in filtration processes –as biological, ecological and social mechanisms in the interaction between humans, the environment, and disease.

This interest is also the driving force behind the new research project, FILTERSCAPE, which with one of the finest European research grants, the ERC Advanced Grant, can now be realized.

"The ERC grant provides a unique opportunity for anthropology to develop new knowledge about the relationship between health and the environment – with a particular focus on the relations of filtration processes.  Anthropology is a discipline committed to the study of relations across time and space, and is particularly well suited to promote dialogue, collaboration, and shared understandings – all of which are crucial in addressing complex environmental and health challenges,” says Ciara Kierans. She elaborates:

-I am very grateful to colleagues at the Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies and the PIREAU platform, who made it possible for me to write the application; to colleagues at the Department of Anthropology, and colleagues in Mexico and Liverpool, where the early ideas for FILTERSCAPE took root.

Filtering as a key to understanding
River basins –landscapes where contamination accumulates – are facing serious challenges today. Pollution from agriculture, industry, urban development, climate change, and flooding affects not only the quality of water, but also the health of people, animals, ecosystems, and communities. According to Ciara Kierans, this calls for new ways of understanding complex pollution flows.

"By following filtration processes in both Denmark and Mexico – two countries facing distinct water challenges – the project will shed light on how filtration occurs in everything from wetlands to waste-water infrastructuresand human bodies. Through a series of research studies, we will not only investigate how filtering works, but also how it can serve as a model for new forms of collaboration and thinking," says Ciara Kierans.

A new way of thinking about health
FILTERSCAPE will thus contribute a new way of thinking about health – not just as something related to the body or disease, but as that which emerges in the interaction between people, nature, technology and the landscapes we inhabit.

The project will reimagine our planets health as a filterscape or filtering assemblage, showing the role human and multi-species filtering must play in shaping and making our landscapes liveable.

In this way, the project will show how a better understanding of the different kinds of filtering processes within a river basin can help create a healthier and more sustainable environment.

Facts about the ERC Advanced Grant
The European Research Council (ERC) awards Advanced Grants (AdG) – Advanced Grants are awarded to exceptional research leaders who have already achieved outstanding research results.

Title: FILTERSCAPE

Amount awarded: €2,317,071.25

Project period: December 2025 – December 2030

In connection with the project, 2 postdocs in environmental history, 2 postdocs in anthropology, a PhD student, an anthropologist who is an expert in river systems (Professor Heather Anne Swanson) and an artist who works with water will be employed.
 

Contact
Ciara Kierans, Professor
Department of Anthropology
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: au688627@cas.au.dk