Presentation: Will the international relationships connected with heritage preservation change in a post-pandemic world?

• Type: Chapter or Part of a Book
• Date: 2021

Authors

Christofoletti, Rodrigo (Author) Other; Botelho, Maria Leonor (Author) FLUP

Book

Title: International relations and heritage: patchwork in times of plurality

Pages: 1-16

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-77991-7

Publisher: Springer

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00X-P5Y

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-77991-7_1

Abstract (EN): As we face nowadays an unprecedented global crisis, one that is radically different from those we have already witnessed in the this century, this book wants to question and debate how will the international relations connected with heritage preservation change in a post-pandemic world? Thus, facing this overall shift in perspective, what will happen to the already ‘outdated’ heritage debates? How can they not be impacted by this new world order? The urge to answer these queries motivated the edition of a special journal issue, containing part of the texts that are newly presented in this book, and that were particularly enlarged. Being aware that regarding this scenario, UNESCO is encouraging World Heritage sites, its platforms and the European World Heritage Journeys to offer people alternative ways for exploring their heritage from home, we are particularly aware that international relations will not be the same after the pandemic, and consequently nor will the conception and management of heritage. Thus, the instantaneous character of (social) media has supplied a new angle towards heritage at the transnational scale. The examination of power relations uncovers new actors, spaces and representations. Cultural Heritage has become an increasingly important actor in multilateral debates. So, the subtitle that ‘nicknames’ this book is more than an attempt to add poetry to the subject matter. Patchwork in times of plurality encompasses the multitude of actions as a revealing symbol of attitudes, actors, organisms and manifestations of the frontiers of preservation and dialogue. Almost like a patchwork, this plural metaphor aggregates yet segregates, it conforms yet disfigures, it boosts the meanings which represent this new field that international relations have recently crossed to. Just like the mirror metaphor—that reflects everything before all, sometimes adding distortion—the patchwork analogy allows the book to take responsibility for disclosing preservation actions on a global scale. This publication has a pioneering role insofar as it sits probably alone in displaying such characteristics, concerns and coverage. The main goal of the book is to illustrate the way in which intergovernmental relations have been privileging heritage and culture as a field of action for broader needs. Therefore, the book addresses topics related with the international agenda, focusing on less debated subjects. Two examples of these undervalued matters are the links between actors, preservationist actions and the universe of world cultural heritage. The book also pursues a critical dialogue between interdisciplinary fields bridging the frontiers of heritage studies, in search of contributing a spectrum of academic perspectives and (inter)national study cases.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific