Protecting contemporary cultural soundscapes as intangible cultural heritage: sounds of Istanbul

This paper aims to evaluate culture and traditions of everyday life from a sonic perspective and to suggest ways for protecting characteristic sounds and soundscapes. This multidisciplinary research, having roots in such fields as soundscape studies, intangible cultural heritage (ICH), museum studies and sensory studies, explores the larger contemporary cultural soundscape of Istanbul. This paper also draws on the project The Soundscape of Istanbul (https://soundscapeofistanbul.ku.edu.tr/), which is archiving the contemporary elements of the cultural soundscape of Istanbul that were determined by public contribution, and outlines examples from this collection. Sounds constitute an inevitable part of daily life and are therefore very important as ICH. Thus, they deserve to be protected to strengthen cultural memory. However, sonic culture is twice endangered due to the physical characteristics of sound itself and the dynamic structure of intangible culture. Therefore, urgent protection of contemporary cultural soundscapes in the context of ICH is crucial for transferring the present sonic environments to following generations in order to maintain cultural identity.     

Cultural Heritage Management in Post-colonial Polities: not the heritage of the other

Ebel es‐Saqi, a village in the southern hills of Lebanon, emerged from 22 years of Israeli occupation in May 2000. In the ensuing years, several development projects took place in the region with the aim of reviving local economies through tourism, enhancing attachment to the land through employment and spreading environmental awareness. One of these projects, the Ecological Park Project of Ebel es‐Saqi, is the subject of this paper. Through examining local perceptions and reactions to the Ebel es‐Saqi project, this paper explores how local conceptions of landscape evolve in response to political, economic, and social change. The findings of the study, based on in‐depth semi‐structured interviews, suggest that the village landscape is an enabling medium through which traditional culture is preserved, local identities constructed and rural heritage acknowledged. This paper unfolds a conception of landscape based on the day‐to‐day lifestyles of the village community, inherited traditional agricultural practices, valued rural heritage and shared village identity.     

Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict: Lessons from Iraq

The past as taught in schools around the world still focuses on what differentiates us rather than what we have in common. This is surely an increasingly important issue as the world appears to be dividing into antagonistic camps that refuse to comprehend each other. We need, in the words of the British archaeologist David Clarke, to “come of age”—and to influence school curricula. We also need to influence general public understanding of the past and its importance and we need to focus attention on groups in society that have particular roles in protection of sites: for example the military. This article is based on a Plenary Session presentation with the same title at the sixth World Archaeological Congress, held in Dublin, Ireland in 2008.     

From the ground up: cultural heritage practices as tools for empowerment in the Homeless Heritage project

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.     

Routeing Heritage for Tourism: making heritage and cultural tourism networks for socio-economic development

Heritage routes and itineraries are mechanisms being used towards tourism needs and objectives. This paper defines these routes, reviews their context, and considers some examples in Europe. It looks at the 'why' and 'how' of heritage routes being established, and shows the inputs that tourism causes and needs. The particular dimensions to routes and what they bring and require are discussed. The associated demand of networks and networking is discussed and the potential beneficial aspects are described. The especial capacity of itineraries to bring about cross-boundary dialogue and interaction are highlighted and the wider potential of this feature for global society is alluded to. The need is suggested for more research into the use, outcomes and effects of routes.     

Archaeology in the Context of War: Legal Frameworks for Protecting Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict

International law provides for a framework for protecting cultural heritage during armed conflict and for punishing those who transgress these principles. If understood within its limitations of dependence on state ratification and enforcement, international law protects cultural heritage by providing guidelines to those who wish to conform and by punishing after the fact those who deliberately destroy cultural heritage. Recent movement toward ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its protocols by the major military powers should afford greater protection to cultural heritage in future conflicts.     

Makarios cultural diplomacy legacy in the republic of Cyprus

ABSTRACT

The article explores the cultural diplomacy initiatives undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) during Makarios presidency (1960–1977) in order to strengthen the state acknowledgement and visibility in the international scenery and promote a nation brand focused mainly on the Hellenocentric aspect of the Greek-Cypriots’ cultural identity. Cyprus, a recently independent state (1960), shaped its cultural diplomacy practices according to the political developments; on the escalation of bi-communal conflicts internally and the international insecurity provoked by the Cold War rhetoric. This paper aims to map certain state cultural initiatives in an attempt to make connections between the internal identity-building process and the external projection of cultural identity and gain a better understanding about how a small-sized state can pursue and project a nation brand abroad by practicing the diplomacy of culture.     

Heritage erasure and heritage transformation: how heritage is created by destruction in Bahrain

This article suggests that heritage erasure is also heritage transformation. The article is an analysis of alternative contemporary heritage processes in the Arab Gulf state Bahrain. I use three cases to illustrate the diversity of what heritage means in Bahrain and how heritage is transformed through erasure. First, I discuss the vast burial mound fields of ancient Dilmun, which in the process of their destruction due to modern development have been appropriated as some of the most significant national heritage of the Bahrain state. Secondly, I point to a heritage allegedly neglected by the state, the religious shrines of the Shia community, which to this group signify an alternative heritage and history of the islands. Finally, I discuss a potential heritage of the future, based on the recent destruction by Bahraini authorities of the Pearl Monument, which was the centre of the 2011 uprising in Bahrain as part of the so-called Arab Spring. Besides their political differences, the three cases are three different modes of engaging the past, either as past preserved, as a living past in the present or as a past that will change the future.     

Communism and cultural heritage: the quest for continuity

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical genealogy and main uses of heritage in actually existing communist countries. This is performed by carrying out a critical review of Èleazar Aleksandrovi? Baller’s Communism and Cultural Heritage, (1984, Progress, Moscow). The analysis of Baller’s work reveals that the logics of heritage in communist countries differed in various ways from capitalist countries, mainly because of the almost total state control over the heritage apparatus and the subordination of heritage policies to Marxist–Leninist ideology. Heritage was fundamental in dealing with the problem of change and continuity with the traditions, narratives and identities of previous society, and in the process of transforming citizens into ‘new men’ through the cultural revolution and the inculcation of ideology through museums and monuments.     

文化遗产 文化自觉 文化建设——追寻中国文化遗产事业的发展历程

文物古迹是过去文化的载体,文化既是不同人们共同体在特定时空中适应环境与社会的结晶,也是人类曾经的生存可能性的记录,因此,文化遗产是发展的智慧资源而非包袱。改革开放以来我们对文物与文化遗产及其价值的认识有一个不断拓展和提高的过程,经历了由古玩、文物到全民性的文化遗产自觉的演变。正确认识和处理不同文化及历史文化遗产,既是作为文明古国的中国发展过程中无法避开的选择,也是全球化、信息化时代古今中外文化大会面时代人类和谐共处、共同繁荣的前提性要求。     

World Heritage as a Model for Citizenship: the case of Cyprus

This paper explores the imaginative spaces in which world heritage is constructed and consumed: on the one hand, as the landmarks of a 'global landscape' mediated through the virtual mobility of cyberspace, essentially freed from 'place' or location; on the other hand, as the place-bound focus of nation-building projects, where the narratives of 'destiny' of nationalist mythology confront the serendipity of modern state boundaries. The paper links these two aspects of 'World Heritage' to two contrasting models of citizenship, one of which is rooted in the ideal of an inclusive democratic world citizenry, whilst the other is tied to more exclusive notions of citizenship attached to membership of specific nation-states and riven by boundaries of ethnicity, religion, state and class. Taking the case of Cyprus, the paper examines the ways in which these discourses of the global and the national, of heritage and citizenship, are mobilised by different groups as symbolic resources in the politics of this divided island.     

Kosovo: Cultural Heritage in Conflict

Abstract

The secession of territory represents a unique challenge in the protection of cultural heritage in conflict. The declared independence of Kosovo has considerable implications for international cultural heritage. This paper focuses on the deliberate destruction of examples of historic architecture such as De?ani Monastery and Hadum Mosque as a means of contextualizing the nature of heritage in conflict with respect to international cultural heritage law. It offers a preliminary examination of aspects of cultural heritage in conflict, particularly in regard to the secession of territory and how it applies to historic monuments. The aim of this paper is two-fold: to address the considerations of immovable cultural property within the borders of Kosovo; and to utilize the examples of Visoki De?ani Monastery and Hadum Mosque to highlight the significance of cultural property in conflict.     

A centralized decentralization: outsourcing in the Turkish cultural heritage sector

Recently Turkey has experimented with reforming its highly centralized cultural heritage sector by outsourcing commercial activities at museums and archeological sites. We examine three outsourcing contracts executed in 2009–2010 and their implications for understanding New Public Management in Turkey’s cultural sector. The initial project at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum was soon superseded by a ‘monopoly’ model that outsourced gift shop and ticket collection services at over 50 museums and sites to single companies. All three projects have significantly increased visitor numbers and revenues for the revolving fund that controls commercial operations within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Yet unlike countries such as Italy, where outsourcing has led to decentralization, increased private sector involvement in Turkey has increased the control of the central government. This ‘centralized decentralization’ is a distinctly Turkish approach that allows for modernization without disturbing a highly centralized administrative tradition.     

Protection of underwater cultural heritage in China: new developments

As a crucial part of the Maritime Silk Road, underwater cultural heritage plays a role in promoting development of One Belt and One Road in China due to its historical, archaeological and cultural value. The Chinese government has taken effective and reasonable measures to safeguard underwater cultural heritage, with numerous achievements. This paper addresses recent developments in the preservation of underwater cultural heritage with regard to legislation and policy.