Violins and trowels for Palmyra: Post‐conflict heritage politics |
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| Authors: | Gertjan Plets |
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| Institution: | Anthropologist and Assistant Professor in Cultural Heritage at the Department of History and Art History at Utrecht University. Drawing on ethnographic research in Siberia, his research explores how various political players (ranging from multinational corporations to bureaucrats) use heritage and cultural memory to (re) define the institutional fabric of the Russian Federation and normalize political hierarchies. He is currently completing a book about the impact of multinational energy corporations on cultural policy in the Russian Federation. |
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| Abstract: | Since the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East, anthropological research has focused on the many deliberate destructions of cultural heritage in the region. Whilst such analyses can offer important insights into the multidimensionality of contemporary warfare and the important role of culture in perpetuating physical violence, heritage ethnographers should also spotlight the post‐conflict futures of Syria and Iraq's war‐torn heritage. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research on (world) heritage politics in the Russian Federation, this article highlights the strategic manipulation of Palmyra by the Russian Federation and investigates how conservation and reconstruction are also important political episodes in a heritage object's cultural biography. |
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