Call for Papers | Graduate workshop: Making and Remaking Heritage in Global Context

The relevance of heritage, in any societal context, depends on the degree to which it has a bearing on current societal issues. Heritage, both tangible and intangible, derives from the past, but is remembered, kept, and perhaps curated, for the relevance it has in the present. Consequently, there is always an equation between what is acknowledged as heritage, and the pressing global challenges of the time. This may involve issues as diverse as climate change, war (or the threat of it), or the insecurities and opportunities created by a growing dependence on capitalist markets.

This graduate workshop at the Anthropology Southern Africa (AsnA) Annual Conference 2024 in Johannesburg will focus on the diverse ways in which heritage comes into being, or loses its relevance, and how that can provide insights into the kind of challenges which people in given societal contexts face.

The workshop is tentatively scheduled for 8–9 November 2024.

We invite submissions from graduate students who in their research engage with these themes, exploring what heritage making or unmaking can accomplish, or how it can fail. Our aim is to highlight and discuss new, hitherto ignored approaches to heritage.

Partial grants for travel and conference registration can be provided to a small number of participants. The amount provided will depend on the distance to be travelled.

To learn more about the theme, submission guidelines and financial support, please download the full call for papers.

About the cover image

Description: View of historic Cairo, with Citadel and Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the back.

Photo credit: Rebecca Sauer.