Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times sets a fresh agenda for Heritage Studies by reflecting upon the unprecedented nature of the contemporary moment. In doing so, the volume also calls into question established ideas, ways of working, and understandings of the future.
Presenting contributions by leading figures in the field of Heritage Studies, Indigenous scholars, and scholars from across the global north and global south, the volume engages with the most pressing issues of today: coloniality, the climate emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, structural racism, growing social and economic inequality, and the ongoing struggle for dignity and restitution.
Considering the impact of climate change, chapters re-imagine museums for climate action, explore the notion of a world heritage for the Anthropocene, and reflect on heritage and posthumanism. Drawing inspiration from the global demonstrations against racism, police violence and authoritarianism, chapters explore the notion of a people’s heritage, draw on local and Indigenous conceptualizations to lay out a notion of heritage in the service of social justice and restitution, and detail the precariousness of universities and heritage institutions in the global south. Analysing the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, chapters also explore the changing nature of life under lockdown, describe its effects on theories of urbanity, and reflect on emergent Covid socialities and heritage-in-the-making.
Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times argues that we need the deep-time perspective that Heritage Studies offers, as well as its sense of transgenerational conversations and accountabilities, in order to respond to these many challenges—and to craft open, creative, and inclusive futures. It will be essential reading for academics and students engaged in the study of heritage, anthropology, memory, history, and geography.
Introduction: Rethinking heritage in precarious times; SECTION 1: ‘The Heritage through my Window’ and Stateless Heritage: Chapter 1 The Heritage through my Window: Some reflections on teaching in the Brazilian Amazon during the Covid-19 pandemic; Chapter 2 Covid Heritage Imperatives as New Pharmacologies of Care: Revelations of ‘Heritage Beyond Power’ and ‘What Makes Life Worth Living’; SECTION 2: More-than-human Heritage: Chapter 3 Heritage and Posthumanism: Seeking harmony in a precarious and unstable world; Chapter 4 River Love: Decolonizing heritage along the Meuse; SECTION 3: Climate Action and the Anthropocene: Chapter 5 The Speculative and the Profane: Reimagining heritage and museums for climate action; Chapter 6 Towards a World Heritage for the Anthropocene; SECTION 4: Heritage Violence and Extractivism: Chapter 7 Rural Landscapes, Extraction and Heritage Violence in the Middle East; Chapter 8 Reckoning with Extractivism: Towards an Anti-Colonial Heritage; SECTION 5: Anti-Racism, People’s Heritage, and ‘Difficult Heritage at the Door’: Chapter 9 Heritage, Social Justice and Black Lives Matter in Ireland during Covid-19; Chapter 10 A People’s Heritage: Engaging the traumas of marginalization; Chapter 11 Difficult Heritage at the Door: Doing heritage research in precarious times; SECTION 6: Coloniality, Peace Building, and Social Justice: Chapter 12 Entries in an Apocryphal Diary: Heritage, crisis, turbulent times; Chapter 13 Heritage, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Australia and New Zealand; SECTION 7: Unsettled Urbanisms and Emergent Internationalisms: Chapter 14 Unsettling the Heritage of Urbanity: Urbanism and urban spaces in pandemic times; Chapter 15 Covid-19, Black Lives Matter and Heritage Futures; SECTION 8: Heritage Futures and ‘News from Nowhere’: Chapter 16 Covid-19 and Heritage in Southern Africa: Precariousness, resilience, and the future of heritage; Chapter 17 Dreaming of Utopia in Times of Trouble: Nowherian heritage inspiration and radical nostalgia during lockdown; Conclusion: When the taps run dry.
Nick Shepherd is an associate professor of heritage studies at Aarhus University, Denmark, and an extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
