Global Heritage: Conflict, Reconciliation, and Diplomacy

Archaeological studies from the 1990s framed cultural heritage as a resource that created attachments to place and to the past as a means to buttress national and cultural identities. But heritage can no longer be viewed as simply a marker of a singular, national identity. As a global era ushers in new regimes of heritage management, heritage becomes embroiled in a multitude of interactions whether acting as a fulcrum of transnational governance or functioning at the crux of community empowered utilizations and initiatives.This course will trace what happens to heritage as it has been drawn into a world of global interactions while also maintaining more local forms of attachment. The class will address three themes (conflict, reconciliation, and diplomacy), all of which result from the multi-scalar relations that emerge from heritage financing, management, and preservation in a transnational arena. While the class will discuss cases that include both tangible and intangible heritage, the focus of the course will center around tangible elements of the past, including heritage sites and archaeological artifacts. Combining readings from the field of international relations, archaeology, and heritage studies, the class will question if and how heritage can be used in local settings while also producing international exchanges.