The book Cultural Heritage and the Future

Book: Cultural Heritage and the Future

Drawing on case studies from around the world, ”Cultural Heritage and the Future” argues that cultural heritage and the future are intimately linked and that the development of futures thinking should be a priority for academics, students and those working in the wider professional heritage sector.

Cultural Heritage and the Future
Edited by Cornelius Holtorf and Anders Högberg
Routledge 2021

More information on the publisher’s webpage (Routledge)

Cover Cultural Heritage and the Future

The volume is a contribution to the field of Heritage Futures. Heritage futures are concerned with the roles of heritage in managing the relations between present and future societies, e.g. through anticipation, planning and prefiguration.

As we move into the future, the biggest challenge of sustainable heritage management is how to make heritage absorb changes while continuing to provide benefits for human societies. The most important question of conservation is therefore not how much heritage of any one period may or may not survive intact into the future but what historical legacy, which we construct and leave behind, will come to benefit future generations the most.

“Overall, ‘Cultural Heritage and the Future’ is an important book that opens up a number of critical questions for the heritage sector and for society in general.” Giovanni Boccardi, Rome, Italy

“This book makes important contributions to deconstruct and rethink the idea of heritage. The very fact that no one has complete control over the future is what makes this topic so interesting and challenging.” Andrés Zarankin, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

“Ultimately, this book is a useful guide to all heritage practitioners from archaeologists to heritage site managers because it provides a guide for how to think about the future in a broad sense – that it is changeable and fluid and that the way we think about heritage today should be as well.” Kate Croll, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

“We should open our minds to the fact that what we pass forward as a result of our conservation attempts may be understood very differently by the recipients than we intended or even imagined.”  Jane Henderson, Cardiff University, UK

Order the book

Buy with a 20% discount if you order online from Routledge by entering the Discount Code FLA22 at Checkout. Order from Routledge here

 

Cultural Heritage and the Future Flyer

About the editors

Cornelius Holtorf is Professor of Archaeology and holds a UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, where he is also directing the Graduate School in Contract Archaeology (GRASCA). In his research, he is particularly interested in contemporary archaeology, heritage theory and heritage futures, with numerous international publications in these areas. He also likes sailing.

Anders Högberg is Professor of Archaeology at Linnaeus University and Associated Researcher at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has broad research interests, and is currently working with projects on heritage futures, migration and cognitive evolution.

UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures

Interested in our work?

https://lnu.se/en/unescochair