Who decides what is worth remembering and what to preserve or destroy? Where do museum objects belong to? Why do languages die out?
The aim of the module is to introduce students to the main concepts and critical approaches to cultural heritage and its role in the dynamics of global power relations since the 18th century. In addition, there is a strong emphasis on discussing the legacy of colonialism and the politics of culture representation in contemporary heritage and museum practice.
We examine a great variety of case studies, do a short field trip around Milestone, and will debate the controversial aspects considering the political, religious, ethnic, cultural, and historical contexts.
As a learning outcome, students will have a solid understanding of how the notion of cultural heritage is both historical and constructed, and embedded into global structures of power, and will be able to critically address historical and present-day cases. The module is recommended for anyone interested in history or social sciences and may serve as a starting point for cultural heritage, memory, post-colonial, and area studies.