Showing papers in "International Journal of Heritage Studies in 2018"
TL;DR: The authors examined the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria and argued that heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure Islamic State, but also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm.
Abstract: This article examines the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. To date, their iconoclasm has been mostly characterised either as acts of wanton barbarism devoid of religious or political justification, or as a cynical performance designed as a mass media spectacle. Drawing on a systematic analysis of two key IS propaganda outlets – their on-line magazine, Dabiq, and the various slick films released by Al-Hayat – this article argues that the heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure ‘Islamic State’, but that they are also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm. To demonstrate, this article documents the iconoclasm undertaken by the IS along two key axes: Symbolic Sectarianism (Shia and Sufi mosques and shrines); and Pre-Monotheistic Iconoclasm (ancient polytheistic sites). Attacks on key sites...
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the connotations of authenticity and its relevance to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) need further consideration, and the connotation of authenticity is a significant concept in the heritage field.
Abstract: Authenticity is a significant concept in the heritage field. However, the connotations of authenticity and its relevance to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) need further consideration. Th...
58 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a new analytical framework of "Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm" (DMI) to analyse and interpret iconoclastic acts that are experienced through the propaganda (videos, social media, etc.).
Abstract: This paper puts forward the new analytical framework of ‘Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm’ (DMI) to analyse and interpret iconoclastic acts that are experienced through the propaganda (videos, social ...
55 citations
TL;DR: The ACCORD project as mentioned in this paper examines the question of authenticity in relation to 3D visualisation of historic objects and monuments and demonstrates that subtle forms of migration and borrowing occur between the original and the digital, creating new forms of authenticity associated with the digital object.
Abstract: This article examines the question of authenticity in relation to 3D visualisation of historic objects and monuments. Much of the literature locates their authenticity in the accuracy of the data and/or the realism of the resulting models. Yet critics argue that 3D visualisations undermine the experience of authenticity, disrupting people’s access to the materiality, biography and aura of their historic counterparts. The ACCORD project takes questions of authenticity and 3D visualisation into a new arena – that of community heritage practice – and uses rapid ethnographic methods to examine whether and how such visualisations acquire authenticity. The results demonstrate that subtle forms of migration and borrowing occur between the original and the digital, creating new forms of authenticity associated with the digital object. Likewise, the creation of digital models mediates the authenticity and status of their original counterparts through the networks of relations in which they are embedded. Th...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of cultural landscapes relates to the multifaceted links between people, place and identity, and the concept refers to a category of designated conservation areas for people, places and identities.
Abstract: The concept of cultural landscapes relates to the multifaceted links between people, place and identity. From a professional perspective, the concept refers to a category of designated conservation...
47 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the former Shanghai Municipal Abattoir, a modernist concrete sculpture now branded 1933 Shanghai, is described as a building of control and reform developed from the eighteenth-century European Enlightenment thinking.
Abstract: This paper opens up a discussion over the processes of forgetting and remembering that occur in the adaptive reuse of quite commonplace buildings that, nevertheless, have been classified as ‘heritage’. For most buildings survival depends upon finding a new economic use once original use has ceased. At this point decisions are also made about what stories are carried forward from the building’s past. The principal case study discussed in this paper is the former Shanghai Municipal Abattoir, a modernist concrete sculpture now branded 1933 Shanghai. The paper delineates how a process of ‘strategic forgetting and selective remembrance’ has been undertaken, negotiating the bloody nature of the building’s past, in its reuse as an upscale commercial venue. Reuse is further considered within the wider frames of a 1920–1930s Shanghai urban branding ‘imaginary’ and as a ‘building of control and reform’ – a category of buildings developed from the eighteenth-century European Enlightenment-thinking. In reflec...
44 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the contested nature of heritage in contemporary China and find that participants in the heritage industry have different responses to the changing social and living environment in Xi'an.
Abstract: The recent urban development in Xi’an illustrates how local authorities are rebuilding an imagined and ancient capital of China which is tied to the remote Tang dynasty, a symbol of the glorious Chinese civilization. Based on instrumental uses of the past, the municipal government has implemented heritage plans to create an aesthetically pleasing and economically valuable destination for display and consumption. This study contributes to an understanding of the contested nature of heritage in the rapidly shifting urban landscape of contemporary China. Rather than fully following the official script, participants in the heritage industry have different responses to the changing social and living environment in Xi’an. Despite the nation-state’s overwhelming involvement in people’s daily lives, I suggest that there is still space where individuals may challenge the dominant narrative. While such challenges might not replace the existing official discourse, people adapt, negotiate and contest these he...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss how heritage professionals and researchers can facilitate and sustain public agency in caring for heritage in the UK during a difficult period in the history of the UK.
Abstract: This article is the product of prolonged wrestling with the question of how heritage professionals and researchers can facilitate and sustain public agency in caring for heritage in the UK during a...
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the state of play in the field, from downloadable audio tours and apps, through more complex engagements with theatrically enhanced and affective simulation, to attempts at fuller dialogic visitor participation and the use of gps or RFID-triggered game mechanics.
Abstract: The heritage industry now makes extensive use of digital audioguides and similar interpretation tools to reach new audiences but many remain rooted in authoritative and didactic conservatism. This paper critically evaluates the state of play in the field, from downloadable audio tours and apps, through more complex engagements with theatrically enhanced and affective simulation, to attempts at fuller dialogic visitor participation and the use of gps or RFID-triggered game mechanics. While ‘armchair’ and home screen-based game and interpretation models are addressed, particular attention is paid to the use of mobile and locative design, where embodiment in place is privileged over less associative or remote experience. The paper takes a research project led by the author as a case study. Ghosts in the Garden was conceived in collaboration with a museum and an experience design SME to test the potential of immersive, affective real world games on public understandings of history. It sought to engage...
30 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors investigated how the Binglanggu theme park in Hainan aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Li minority heritage, and found that when concentrating on certain ICH expressions that align with the state's ethnic minority narrative, the theme park makes an important contribution to the research and documentation of minority heritage.
Abstract: Since 2003, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has become a priority of China’s cultural heritage safeguarding policies at all levels. Despite this, academic research has paid limited attention to the safeguarding of ICH in a theme park setting. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of safeguarding ICH in an ethnic theme park in China. It investigates how the Binglanggu theme park in Hainan aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Li minority heritage. The study is based on qualitative data consisting of interviews with Li minority members working at Binglanggu, the Vice-Manager of the theme park and interviews with heritage and tourism experts in Hainan, as well as observation at the theme park. The findings indicate that, when concentrating on certain ICH expressions that align with the state’s ethnic minority narrative, the theme park makes an important contribution to the research and documentation of Li minority heritage. However, the park struggles to transmit IC...
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a new qualitative data collection for museum participation, where visitors are invited to leave a comment, co-create, or contribute to exhibitions, as an opportunity to democratise the museum experience.
Abstract: Participation – where visitors are invited to leave a comment, co-create, or contribute to exhibitions – has been hailed as an opportunity to democratise the museum experience. New qualitative data...
TL;DR: In this paper, a historical site loses its significance or becomes less worthy of interpretation if there are no surviving buildings, and can technology help present the stories of disadvantaged and disenfranchise people.
Abstract: Does a historical site lose its significance or become less worthy of interpretation if there are no surviving buildings? Can technology help present the stories of disadvantaged and disenfranchise...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors trace the transition from spontaneous to official memorialization of the 2016 Brussels terrorist attack by questioning which factors trigger the heritagization process, and propose a model of the transition.
Abstract: This research article traces the process of transition from spontaneous to ‘official’ memorialisation of the 2016 Brussels terrorist attack by questioning which factors trigger the heritagization p...
TL;DR: In 2013, the Southbank Centre proposed the redevelopment of a complex of buildings including a famous skate spot known as the Undercroft, which drew strong opposition from the public as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In 2013 the Southbank Centre proposed the redevelopment of a complex of buildings including a famous skate spot known as the Undercroft. The 2013–14 campaign to protect the Undercroft drew strongly...
TL;DR: This paper explored the ways in which heritage as a practice and concept has been used and diverse meanings and values ascribed to heritage by different claimants, using the medieval site of Ani in eastern Turkey as a case study.
Abstract: This paper explores the ways in which heritage as a practice and concept has been used and diverse meanings and values ascribed to heritage by different claimants, using the medieval site of Ani in eastern Turkey as a case study. On one hand, the site marks a point of conflict between Turks and Armenians, with the heritage and the past of the site playing an important role for identity making and construction of national narratives, as well as developing what might be seen as the authorised heritage discourses for both sides. On other hand, the local community around the site has developed a different relationship to the site Ani because of their daily relationship with its landscape and built environment. This has revealed meaning and values embodied in the site that are beyond the national and political level. This paper considers to what extent the built environment in particular, can play a role in identity making and add to the political tension. It also examines how the value and meaning of ...
TL;DR: The authors discuss the heritage of the WWII evacuation and the so-called burning of Lapland within a Sami reindeer herding community, and assess how these wartime experiences have moulded, and continue to mould, the ways people memorialise and engage with the WWII material remains.
Abstract: In this paper we discuss the heritage of the WWII evacuation and the so-called ‘burning of Lapland’ within a Sami reindeer herding community, and assess how these wartime experiences have moulded, and continue to mould, the ways people memorialise and engage with the WWII material remains. Our focus is on the village of Vuotso, which is home to the southernmost Sami community in Finland. The Nazi German troops established a large military base there in 1941, and the Germans and the villagers lived as close neighbours for several years. In 1944 the villagers were evacuated before the outbreak of the Finno-German ‘Lapland War’ of 1944–1945, in which the German troops annihilated their military installations and the civilian infrastructure. Today the ruins of demolished German military installations persist around the village as vivid reminders, and act for the villagers as important active agents in memorising this vital phase in Lapland’s recent past. They also appear to facilitate nostalgia for th...
TL;DR: The heritage studies of the socialist built legacy of the former Soviet Socialist Republics have mainly concentrated on the buildings and monuments representing the political ideology of th... as mentioned in this paper, where the authors have focused on the building and monument representing the social ideology of former Soviet republics.
Abstract: The heritage studies of the socialist built legacy of the former Soviet Socialist Republics have mainly concentrated on the buildings and monuments representing the political ideology of th...
TL;DR: The Homeless Heritage project as discussed by the authors used a range of participatory heritage practices to engage contemporary homeless people in documenting their perspectives on each city, which can be useful in recording diverse stakeholder perspectives which can become catalysts for social change.
Abstract: The Homeless Heritage project took place across two English cities (Bristol and York) between 2010 and 2014. The project sought to use a range of participatory heritage practices to engage contemporary homeless people in documenting their perspectives on each city. Drawing on data gathered over three and a half years this paper reflects on how collaborative cultural heritage practices can be useful in recording diverse stakeholder perspectives which can become catalysts for social change. It is further argued that two interactive exhibitions that resulted from the Homeless Heritage project contributed to the democratisation of knowledge, aiding negotiation of the complicated politics of contemporary homelessness in valuable ways.
TL;DR: The 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) is the most recent incorporation to the global process of heritage production that was triggered by the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
Abstract: The 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) is the most recent incorporation to the global process of heritage production that was triggered by the 1972 World Heritage Convention....
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study drawn from design-based research (DBR) on a mobile, place-based augmented reality history game using DBR methods was presented, where the game was developed by the author as a history.
Abstract: This paper presents a case study drawn from design-based research (DBR) on a mobile, place-based augmented reality history game Using DBR methods, the game was developed by the author as a history
TL;DR: In this article, the ambiguous relationship between heritage tourism and everyday life in the historic centre of Naples is discussed, and the idea of precariousness is adopted to make sense of the allure and repulsion that the historic center exerts in tourist encounters with the city.
Abstract: This article discusses the ambiguous relationship between heritage tourism and everyday life in the historic centre of Naples. This area, long characterised by a lower-class residential population and intermittently considered off-limits to tourists, has over the last two decades become the focus of a burgeoning heritage tourism industry. The article adopts the idea of precariousness – understood contra conventional formulations as a condition that elicits both anxiety and emancipatory release – in order to make sense of the allure and repulsion that the historic centre exerts in tourist encounters with the city. Through three examples – a bus sightseeing tour, online responses to a New York Times article about Naples and local people’s perceptions of a pedestrianised piazza as a tourist contact zone – the article illustrates how the historic centre as a tourist destination is constituted by a mix of foreboding and excitement; where affective experience tends to trump the monumental gaze. Thinking...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the conflicts on the heritagization processes of Butia palm forests in Uruguay and find that some problems regarding the reproduction of this ecosystem have triggered the creation of co...
Abstract: In this paper, I analyze the conflicts on the heritagization processes of Butia palm forests in Uruguay. Some problems regarding the reproduction of this ecosystem have triggered the creation of co...
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of stakeholder-defined heritage at two contested sites in the central Midwest revealed both congruencies and conflicts among diverse constituencies' articulations of the sites' value.
Abstract: Understanding the value of heritage sites for diverse stakeholders requires both paying attention to the fields of power in which the sites operate and applying methodologies that are open to user-defined paradigms of value. In the U.S., official discourse often frames the value of heritage sites associated the deep Native American past as archaeological sites, an interpretation that is consistent with settler colonial ideologies. This narrative generally obfuscates connections between the heritage of the sites and contemporary peoples, and it effaces the history of colonialism and dispossession. A study of stakeholder-defined heritage at two contested sites in the central Midwest revealed both congruencies and conflicts among diverse constituencies’ articulations of the sites’ value. At Mounds State Park a proposed dam and reservoir ‘Mounds Lake’ project would inundate a large portion of the site. At Strawtown Koteewi, Native American tribes have made repatriation claims under the federal Native ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have collaborated with Kyrgyz citizens to promote a national conversation about heritage, based on grass roots interest and sentiment, and countering polarising political r...
Abstract: Over the past twelve years I have collaborated with Kyrgyz citizens to promote a national conversation about heritage, based on grass roots interest and sentiment. Countering polarising political r...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the role that their friendship played in enabling them to build affinity whilst simultaneously acknowledging and working with their differences; confronting asymmetries in their positions and privileges.
Abstract: This article is built from the authors’ shared experience of using participatory methodology when working together on the construction of an archive of mental health recovery stories. In particular, it examines the nature of the relational dynamic between the authors which moved from a collaborative partnership towards friendship in the course of constructing the archive (practice) and critically reflecting on its development (research). The article has been constructed by interweaving the personal reflections of the two authors on the shared process, using self-reflexivity as a method for exploring the benefits and challenges of taking an emotionally engaged and personal approach to participatory research. In particular, it seeks to explore the role that our friendship played in enabling us to build affinity whilst simultaneously acknowledging and working with our differences; confronting asymmetries in our positions and privileges. The article concludes with Anna’s reflections on the benefits an...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of the planned National Museum of Romanian Communism and the site of Jilava Penitentiary, a former communist prison, near Bucharest in Romania is presented.
Abstract: This paper considers contested and traumatic narratives, using a case study of the planned National Museum of Romanian Communism and the site of Jilava Penitentiary, a former communist prison, near Bucharest in Romania. It discusses what happened when representatives from different groups of former victims and perpetrators met together with facilitators and worked towards a shared understanding of the past to reach some consensus about how to deal with different and apparently conflicting narratives within a new museum of communism. It draws on notions of emotional communities in order to understand the role heritage plays in contested situations. It also considers the nature of transitional justice (‘Transitional justice is an approach to systematic or massive violations of human rights that both provides redress to victims and creates or enhances opportunities for the transformation of the political systems, conflicts, and other conditions that may have been at the root of the abuses’.) in this ...
TL;DR: This paper investigated how resistances to this change emerge, coalesce and revolve, and how they use heritage to generate cumulative impact in a working-class neighbourhood of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Abstract: Urban social change and large-scale demolitions in the name of urban renewal often give rise to social conflicts. In this study, we investigate how resistances to this change emerge, coalesce and revolve, and how they use heritage to generate cumulative impact. The analyses of urban change and resistance in Garda, a working-class neighbourhood of Gothenburg, Sweden, showed social conflicts to be instigated by their stigmatisation. Since the 1970s, Garda has been called ‘out of place’ and marked for demolition. These demolitions were given legitimacy by the ‘housing quality standards’ that emerged in the 1930s as a means to reduce social inequalities. Over time these standards became an ‘intangible heritage’ employed in neoliberal urban policies. In response, five ‘Re-Garda’ resistance strategies emerged to contest Garda’s future. Resistance groups uncovered new values for Garda, curating the vision with the slogan ‘have a coffee in Garda’, and structuring the narrative ‘upgrade Garda’. This challe...
TL;DR: This article explored museum theatre as a form of memory-work and suggests that theatrical performances of the memories of enslavement are an increasingly important but not yet fully understood strategy for recovering, embodying, and representing a different and hopefully more just narrative about enslaved Africans.
Abstract: In the southeastern United States, operators of plantation museums have traditionally engaged in a selective and romanticised remembrance of the antebellum past that has regrettably silenced and marginalised the historical experiences and struggles of enslaved African people. More recently, some plantation managers have sought to engage in the ‘memory-work’ using artistic practices to reconstruct and interpret slavery heritage for visitors. Our study explores museum theatre as a form of memory-work and suggests that theatrical performances of the memories of enslavement are an increasingly important but not yet fully understood strategy for recovering, embodying, and representing a different and hopefully more just narrative about enslaved Africans. We visit three plantation museums where managers hosted a theatrical performance of enslaved oral histories and explore the motivations and experiences of managers and the director of the slave performance. Realising the power and efficacy of theatrica...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the construction and preservation history of the Theatre of Union No6 of the Coal Miners in Lota, Chile, a city whose identity has been redefined due to changes in the capital city.
Abstract: This paper examines the construction and preservation history of the Theatre of Union No6 of the Coal Miners in Lota, Chile, a city whose identity has been redefined due to changes in the capitalis...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the Research Incentivisation Fund at the University of Glasgow; University of Leicester College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Development Fund (RINF).
Abstract: This work was supported by the Research Incentivisation Fund at the University of Glasgow; University of Leicester College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Development Fund