Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times

Coloniality, Climate Change, and Covid-19

Nick Shepherd

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9781000913811
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Contributors
• Introduction: Rethinking Heritage in Precarious Times
• Section I: ‘The Heritage through My Window’ and Stateless Heritage
• Section II: More-than-Human Heritage
• Section III: Climate Action and the Anthropocene
• Section IV: Heritage Violence and Extractivism
• Section V: Anti-Racism, People's Heritage, and ‘Difficult Heritage at the Door’
• Section VI: Coloniality, Peace Building, and Social Justice
• Section VII: Unsettled Urbanisms and Emergent Internationalisms
• Section VIII: Heritage Futures and ‘News from Nowhere’
• Index