The Politics of Urban Heritage

Course Description
What would it take to reenvision contemporary modes of heritage display in a more radically democratic, critical, and socially inclusive way? And what might such projects look like? This course will examine the proliferating realm of heritage display in urban places (museums, historical parks and trails, official and vernacular monuments and art, place-marketing campaigns, waterfront redevelopment, adaptive reuse and historic preservation projects) and will examine the problematic relationship between the often-marginalized groups who ?have? heritage and the tourists, students, and others who can be attracted to view and experience it second-hand. Drawing on films, field trips, and a multidisciplinary literature from anthropology, cultural studies, history, tourism and museum studies, the class will analyze the underlying logic of this type of cultural expression and will explore how it manifests itself in the complex, overlapping environments of urban neighborhoods.

Course Objectives
1) To make an argument that urban heritage production is limited by its inherent nature, but has the potential to be reshaped by conscious, politically-aware action in the heritage realm--an argument that students should critically evaluate and engage with. 2) For students to become familiar with some of the scholarly literature from heritage studies and some heritage projects in the area around Hampshire College. (3) For each student to develop a well-conceived, well-executed individual project design that shows clearly how it would challenge the inherent limitations of heritage production. (4) To have an atmosphere of lively and inclusive exchange in the class overall.

Evaluation Criteria
We will work out a shared set of evaluation criteria in the second class session. The instructor's criteria are based on the objectives above: 1) Are you able to critically evaluate my argument about heritage production? 2) Have you engaged with the readings and class discussions? Does this engagement show in the segment of class discussion you are responsible for leading? 3) Does your final project design show good critical thought? Does it reference appropriate readings, visits, and class discussion topics? Is it well-executed and presented? Your own evaluation criteria will be weighed equally with those above.