Heritage and Identity: Engagement and Demission in the Contemporary World

by Marta Anico (Editor), Elsa Peralta (Editor)

Overview

Heritage and Identity explores the complex ways in which heritage actively contributes to the construction and representation of identities in contemporary societies, providing a comprehensive account of the diverse conceptions of heritage and identity across different continents and cultures.

This collection of thought-provoking articles from experts in the field captures the richness and diversity of the interlinked themes of heritage and identity. Heritage is more than a simple legacy from the past, and incorporates all elements, past and present, that have the ability to represent particular identities in the public sphere.

The editors introduce and discuss a wide range of interconnected topics, including multiculturalism and globalization, local and regional identity, urban heritage, difficult memories, conceptions of history, ethnic representations, repatriation, ownership, controversy, contestation, and ethics and social responsibility.

The volume places empirical data within a theoretical and analytical framework and presents an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the representation of the past, invaluable for anyone interested in heritage and museum studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415453356
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/26/2008
Series:	Museum Meanings
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Marta Anico, Elsa Peralta

Table of Contents

Part 1: Place and Identity 1. What Role Can Digital Heritage Play in the Re-imagining of National Identities? England and its Icons 2. Locating Art: The Display and Construction of Place Identity in Art Galleries 3. Place, Local Distinctiveness and Local Identity: Ecomuseum Approaches in Europe and Asia 4. Representing Identities at Local Municipal Museums: Cultural Forums or Identity Bunkers? 5. Heritage According to Scale Part 2: Remembering and Forgetting 6.Unsettling Memories: Intervention and Controversy Over Difficult Public Heritage 7. Public Silences, Private Voices: Memory Games in a Maritime Heritage Complex 8. The Banalization and the Contestation of Memory in Postcommunist Poland 9. A Landscape of Memories: Layers of Meaning in a Dublin Park Part 3: Domination and Contestation 10. Labor and Leisure at Monticello: Or Representing Race Instead of Class at an Inadvertent White Identity Shrine 11. The Ancient City Walls of Great Benin: Colonialism, Urban Heritage and Cultural Identity in Contemporary Nigeria 12. The Past in the Present: Towards a Politics of Care at the National Trust of Australia –WA 13. Yoruba Identity and Western Museums: Ethnic Pride and Artistic Representations