Memorylands is an original and fascinating investigation of the nature of heritage, memory and understandings of the past in Europe today. It looks at how Europe has become a 'memoryland' - littered ...with material reminders of the past, such as museums, heritage sites and memorials; and at how this 'memory phenomenon' is related to the changing nature of identities - especially European, national and cosmopolitan. In doing so, it provides new insights into how memory and the past are being performed and reconfigured in Europe - and with what effects.
Drawing especially, though not exclusively, on cases, concepts and arguments from social and cultural anthropology, Memorylands argues for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the cultural assumptions involved in relating to the past. It theorizes the various ways in which 'materializations' of identity work and relates these to different forms of identification within Europe. The book also addresses questions of methodology, including discussion of historical, ethnographic, interdisciplinary and innovative methods. Through a wide-range of case-studies from across Europe, Sharon Macdonald argues that Europe is home to a much greater range of ways of making the past present than is usually realized - and a greater range of forms of 'historical consciousness'. At the same time, however, she seeks to highlight what she calls 'the European memory complex' - a repertoire of prevalent patterns in forms of recollection and 'past presencing'.
The examples in Memorylands are drawn from both the margins and metropolitan centres, from the relatively small-scale and local, the national and the avant-garde. The book looks at pasts that are potentially identity-disrupting - or 'difficult' - as well as those that affirm identities or offer possibilities for transcending national identities or articulating more cosmopolitan futures. Topics covered include authenticity, temporalities,
How does heritage emerge, change, stagnate, disappear and/or revive over time? Should heritage be approached as a ‘non-renewable resource’ that needs to be sustained for eternity, or as a ‘renewable ...resource’ that adapts to change and transformation? Heritage Dynamics deconstructs the dynamic nature of heritage. Heritage as a socio-cultural practice goes through non-linear, continuous lifecycles, where certain factors will be the catalyst for the ending of one lifecycle and the revival for another. Kalliopi Fouseki develops a theoretical and methodological framework of ‘heritage dynamics’, which is used as the analytical thread of six heritage contexts: heritage-led transformation in historic urban places; decision-making on energy efficiency and heritage conservation in ‘everyday heritage’ residential buildings; lifecycles of heritage collections; exhibition dynamics and the impact of participation with emphasis of ‘difficult heritage’; dynamics of dissonance on contested museums and the dynamics of ‘intangible heritage’ with emphasis on flamenco. The book offers a new theoretical and methodological framework that will enable heritage scholars and practitioners to unpack the ways and conditions under which heritage changes. The new theoretical framework will re-orientate current thinking of heritage as a thing, a process or discourse towards a new, more systemic thinking that captures the complexity of heritage. Methodologically, Heritage Dynamics introduces the potential of systemic methods, such as system dynamics, in capturing the dynamic nature of heritage. The new theory and method not only opens up new avenues for theoretical explorations, but also offers a significant tool for heritage managers and policymakers.
Heritage is a growing area of both tourism and study, with World Heritage Site designations increasing year-on-year. This book reviews the important interrelations between the industry, local ...communities and conservation work, bringing together the various opportunities and challenges for different destinations. World Heritage status is a strong marketing brand, and proper heritage management and effective conservation are vital, but this tourism must also be developed and managed appropriately if it is to benefit a site. As many sites are located in residential areas, their interaction with the local community must also be carefully considered. This book:- Reviews new areas of development such as Historic Urban Landscapes, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Memory of the World and Global Geoparks.- Includes global case studies to relate theory to practice.- Covers a worldwide industry of over 1,000 cultural and natural heritage sites.An important read for academics, researchers and students of heritage studies, cultural studies and tourism, this book is also a useful resource for professionals working in conservation, cultural and natural heritage management.
One of the most salient forms of modern-day tourism is based on the heritage of humankind. The majority of all global travel entails some element of the cultural past, as hundreds of millions of ...people visit cultural attractions, heritage festivals, and historic places each year. The book delves into this vast form of tourism by providing a comprehensive examination of its issues, current debates, concepts and practices. It looks at the social, physical and economic impacts, which cause destinations, site managers and interpreters to consider not only how to plan and manage resources but also how to portray the past in ways that are acceptable, accurate, accessible and politically relevant. In the process, however, the depth of heritage politics, the authenticity and inauthenticity of place and experience, and the urgent need to protect living and built cultures are exposed. The book explores these and many other current issues surrounding the management of cultural resources for tourism. In order to help students relate concepts to real-world situations it combines theory and practice, is student learning oriented, is written accessibly for all readers and is empirically rich.
This book offers a comprehensive overview of the intellectual developments in urban conservation. The authors offer unique insights from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and the book is richly ...illustrated with colour photographs. Examples are drawn from urban heritage sites worldwide from Timbuktu to Liverpool to demonstrate key issues and best practice in urban conservation today. The book offers an invaluable resource for architects, planners, surveyors and engineers worldwide working in heritage conservation, as well as for local authority conservation officers and managers of heritage sites.
Research on sustainable development and urban heritage currently focuses more on the economic realm rather than the social dimension. Social cohesion plays an important role in achieving ...sustainability goals. Although it has been argued that urban heritage contributes to social cohesion, this has not been adequately tested from an empirical perspective. Therefore, this study aims to using a hierarchical linear model investigate the total number and different types of heritages across 32 communities in Nara City, Japan, and the awareness and utilization of urban heritage of 1502 residents in the target communities, to analyzes the relationship with their social cohesion. The findings indicate that social cohesion is related to residents' heritage awareness and utilization patterns. Higher heritage awareness, more frequent visits and longer stays at heritage sites correspond to a higher level of social cohesion. The number of community heritage is also positively related because its presence provides communities with a better living environment and more places to interact and learn about the local culture. However, different types of urban heritage do not have the same relationship with social cohesion. Our research emphasizes that urban heritage should be used wisely to stimulate its role as a driver of sustainable social development.
•The relationship between urban heritage and social cohesion is explored for the first time through a quantitative approach.•Social cohesion is positively correlated with the amount of heritage in a community.•Different types of heritage have different relationships with social cohesion.•Heritage awareness and the patterns of heritage use by residents are intimately related to social cohesion.•Propose heritage policies and management from the aspect of urban planning
Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage explores the construction of "authenticity" and its consequences in relation to Chinese cultural heritage-those objects, texts, and intangible ...practices concerned with China's past.
Including contributions from scholars around the world reflecting on a range of different materials and time periods, Understanding Authenticity emphasizes the situatedness and fluidity of authenticity concepts. Attitudes toward authenticity change over time and place, and vary between communities and object types, among stakeholders in China as they do elsewhere. The book examines how "authenticity" relates to four major aspects of cultural heritage in China-art and material culture, cultural heritage management and preservation, living and intangible heritage, and texts and manuscripts-with individual contributions engaging in a critical and interdisciplinary conversation that weaves together heritage management, art history, archaeology, architecture, tourism, law, history, and literature. Moving beyond conceptual issues, the book also considers the practical ramifications for work in cultural heritage management, museums, and academic research.
Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage provides an opportunity for reflection on the contingencies of authenticity debates-not only in relation to China but also anywhere around the world. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in a variety of fields, including heritage studies, Asian studies, art history, museum studies, history, and archaeology.
For cultural and heritage institutions around the world, sustainability is the major challenge of the twenty-first century. In the first major work to analyze this critical issue, Barthel-Bouchier ...argues that programmatic commitments to sustainability arose both from direct environmental threats to tangible and intangible heritage, and from social and economic contradictions as heritage developed into a truly global organizational field. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews over many years, as well as detailed coverage of primary documents and secondary literature, she examines key international organizations including UNESCO, ICOMOS, and the World Monuments Fund, and national trust organizations of Great Britain, the United States, and Australia, and many others. This wide-ranging study establishes a foundation for critical analysis and programmatic advances as heritage professionals encounter the growing challenge of sustainability.
The UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 set the contemporary standard for cultural and natural conservation. Today, a place on the World Heritage List is much sought after for tourism promotion, ...development funding, and national prestige. Presenting case studies from across the globe, particularly from Africa and Asia, anthropologists with situated expertise in specific World Heritage sites explore the consequences of the World Heritage framework and the global spread of the UNESCO heritage regime. This book shows how local and national circumstances interact with the global institutional framework in complex and unexpected ways. Often, the communities around World Heritage sites are constrained by these heritage regimes rather than empowered by them.
The management of cultural heritage and public real-estate assets is one of the most crucial challenges concerning the sustainable use of these resources, involving dynamic methods to stimulate ...preservation, development, renewal, and transmission to future generations of these essential assets. The contributions presented in this book provide a rich and varied panorama of research experiences and innovative tools, capable of promoting the re-use of cultural heritage in European cities and cultural landscapes, using a circular economy logic as a model of sustainable development. From this point of view, cultural capital becomes the driver of a regeneration process on the local, urban, and metropolitan scales, in which the transversal interconnections between the production cycles of the adaptive re-use of the available heritage, both in the adaptation and in the management phase, configure a circular process of multidimensional production of value. Therefore, future territorial redevelopment projects can base their idea strength on an open system of appropriately selected social attractors, whose enhancement and use have the objective of triggering widespread regeneration effects on the whole territory of influence, receiving inducement and resources to progress.
