1st Edition

Heritage, Democracy and the Public Nordic Approaches

    330 Pages
    by Routledge

    330 Pages
    by Routledge

    What is the significance of heritage for how welfare is defined? What function does heritage have in the public realm and how is heritage becoming a resource for citizens to gain influence in society? Who and what defines the public debates and the politics about heritage? Is there a knowledge gap between research communities, management, and the public understanding and use of heritage? These are some of the questions that the authors of this book reflect upon. They provide Nordic perspectives on how the management of the past takes place, and how it is carried out in the service of the society, offering new interpretations of the role of heritage in present society, where institutional heritage management has become just one of the many and multiple ways in which different publics engage with cultural heritage. This book addresses the main challenges faced by heritage managers today in light of the changing understanding of heritage in society.

    List of Figures and Tables, List of Contributors, Foreword, 1 Introduction: Heritage, Democracy and the Public – Nordic Approaches, PART I Debating National Heritage – Between Old and New Paradigms, PART II Contesting Heritage – Prevailing Policy and Planning Regimes, PART III Experiencing Heritage: Embodiment, Performance and the Public, PART IV Conceptualising and Managing Heritage – Theories and Future Challenges, Index

    Biography

    Torgrim Sneve Guttormsen is an archaeologist (PhD) and Researcher at Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Norway. Grete Swensen is an ethnologist and Senior Researcher at Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Norway.

    ’As one of only a few books dealing with its theme, this comprehensive collection of fresh and original essays should be on the wish list of any academic or practitioner wanting to enter into and understand Nordic approaches to heritage and its management.’ Emma Waterton, University of Western Sydney, Australia ’Anyone interested in the challenges of how to manage cultural heritage as a democratic resource in societal processes will benefit from reading this book. This broadens the contemporary discourse by presenting thought-provoking Scandinavian insights into the relationship between cultural heritage and the ideals of the Nordic welfare societies.’ HÃ¥kan Karlsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden