Thursday\, April 16\, 3:45-5:15 pm
I n his influential 1980s essay\, John Merryman identified two competing ways of thinking about cultural property: through nationalistic or universal le nses. In the decades since\, scholars\, as well as international organizati ons like UNESCO\, have promoted a third approach\, centered on the most aff iliated local communities. Yet critics have underscored the persistent invi sibility of such communities within a predominantly state-centric heritage regime. One key issue is the structure of the 1972 World Heritage Conventio n\, which grants only national governments the authority to nominate sites\ , often sidelining heritage that challenges national narratives. Another is the centrality of experts in inscription and preservation processes\, whic h can conflict with more relational\, practice based understandings of heri tage. In this session\, we will explore these tensions alongside critiques such as Karen Engle’s\, which show how the recognition of indigenous cultur al rights can entrap communities in fixed\, legible identities. Is there ro om for a more dynamic engagement with cultural heritage? Do the universal\, national\, and local approaches genuinely reflect distinct affiliations\, or are they discursive frameworks mobilized in the service of competing her itage claims?
Suggested readings are available on Canvas.
LOCATION:Hauser Hall\; 104 Lumbard Classroom GEO:0;0 ORGANIZER;CN="Kathryn Rose Weaver":MAILTO:kweaver@law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/byse-workshop-session-7/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20260308T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR