Book launch: Critical Approaches to Heritage for Development

Chair: Dr Thaís de Carvalho

Book Contributor Discussants: Dr Charlotte Cross, Dr John Giblin, Tolulope Esther Fadeyi, Abiti Nelson Adebo and Dr Mark Lamont

Download the event flyer [PDF]

Join us for this inaugural launch, as contributors to Critical Approaches to Heritage for Development will discuss the politics and potential of mobilising the past for ‘progress’, considering some of the key questions and issues the book tackles:

• How do people draw on the past to imagine and pursue better futures?
• What has heritage got to do with contemporary challenges such as maternal health, post-conflict reconciliation and ocean sustainability?
• What are the implications of attempts to instrumentalise the past for who shapes and benefits from development?

Critical Approaches to Heritage for Development responds to growing interest in the potential for cultural heritage to contribute to development at different scales, from the global agendas articulated by UNESCO and in the Sustainable Development Goals, to the everyday ways in which people draw on the past in working out what a good life might mean and how it might be achieved. Contributions consider a wide range of attempts to mobilise the past for ‘progress’, including formalised interventions led by museums and development agencies, the institutionalisation of traditional practices in service delivery, livelihood strategies pursued by groups and individuals, and claims for restitution and reparation for past wrongs. In addition to heritage tourism and economic development, chapters focus on themes such as maternal and mental health, education, climate and environment, and governance, peace and security.