Paper short abstract:

In this presentation I aim to critically examine the ideal of democratising research practices in heritage research by asking what happens if we empower participants who express totalitarian and anti-democratic world views.

Paper long abstract:

In this presentation I aim to critically examine the ideal of democratising research practices in heritage research by asking what happens if we empower participants who express totalitarian and anti-democratic world views. I will do so by shedding light on my collaboration with heritage clubs in an Austrian Alpine community that that see the preservation of the populations’ “natural” or “indigenous” cultural ties as their core task. Whilst aiming to preserve traditions, many of these clubs carry a strong exclusionary undertone: They aim to defend blood and soil from the socio-cultural infiltration of outsiders or from the spread of cosmopolitan ideals threatening to destroy their cultural ties. In my presentation I want to look at the socio-cultural genealogies of these exclusionary engagements with the past and pick up the panels’ question in how far working with difficult or “unruly” ideas of heritage might force researchers to rethink ideas of voice and participation.

Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses ways of participating in research collaborations in research on contemporary articulations of Kven national minority heritage in museum and media fields, specifically exploring ways to be allies in bringing forth research of relevance to the Kven minority.

Paper long abstract:

As a meeting place for different ethnic groups and cultures, Northern Norway has always been multi-cultural, yet no other Norwegian region has experienced such systematic and lasting assimilation policies targeting minorities. This has caused silencing of the histories of Sámi people and minorities such as the Kvens. Historically, research has also been a part of the colonizing practices in these areas. In this paper we address methodological positions when dealing with aspects of Kven heritage in such areas. We discuss ways of participating in knowledge production based on research collaborations with indigenous and ethnic minority partners. Based on an ongoing research project dealing with contemporary articulations of Kven heritage in museums and media in Northern Norway, we look for ways to be research allies of relevance to Kven communities. Our methodological starting point is participatory research practices in which critics engage in extended forms of interaction, participation, and observation with the communities they study. Yet, in such processes, we discuss with whom to stand within Kven communities, and which arenas we should take part in. Following this, we address ways of meeting the challenge of integrating different types of knowledge fields when participating in research collaborations with Kven partners. We reflect on how mutual learning might be facilitated, and particularly how we, via self-reflexivity and our own situated-ness, might take part in developing academic knowledge of relevance to different contemporary Kven communities.

Paper short abstract:

Based on observations of practices of contemporary Pagans, actions of the Catholic Church and representatives of relevant secular institutions, the paper focuses on a conflict that has arisen around use of and rights to nationally significant historical sites in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Paper long abstract:

Religious groups are among the most active users of heritagized objects and sites that are often controlled by secular actors. Developed and supported by various ideologies, popular assumptions about building of Christian churches and other objects in previously Pagan sacred sites are held by many contemporary Pagans and in some cases may cause clashes between representatives of the two religious traditions. Based on observations of communal practices of a contemporary Pagan community Romuva, actions of the Catholic Church and representatives of the municipality and other relevant secular institutions, the paper focuses on a conflict that has arisen around use of and rights to nationally significant historical sites in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. The objects, such as the Vilnius Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and Vladislaus and the Cathedral Square, are central for Lithuanian Catholicism; while speculations about remains of a Pagan temple existing under the Cathedral and some interpretations of historical records offer a vision of the location as a central sacred site of pre-Christian Grand Dutchy of Lithuania. In this case several heritage discourses established in the national narrative of various periods are available for competing religious groups. Their statuses within the state and arrangements with local secular institutions determine relationships of power. The Catholic Church has power to allow or restrict the use of the heritagized site by other interested groups, including contemporary Pagans; the latter employ a variety of strategies to contest and break the rules set by their powerful competitor.

Paper short abstract:

This communication examines a case study of an association that through cultural itineraries are recovering and sharing the stories of the maquis, a guerrilla group opposed to the Spanish Franco regime. By doing so, civil society is participating in the recovery of contested heritage.

Paper long abstract:

The memory of those defeated in the Spanish Civil War and persecuted during Franco’s dictatorship regime have been silenced for decades under a contested agreement known as the ‘pact of oblivion’. The Spanish Law of Historical Memory has opened the debate about representations of our negative past; however, the political positions are confronted, and the public representations are still scarce. Meanwhile, family associations and civil organizations are searching for vias to recover and share their collective memories. In different parts of the country, private and local associations are promoting cultural tours to share their stories with neighbors and strangers. We find one of such examples in the comarca of La Garrotxa, in Catalonia, where an associative group, L’ Amical d’Antics Guerrillers de Catalunya, are offering tours to reveal the history of the maquis, a guerrilla group opposed to the Franco regime. By developing their own heritage interpretation and tourism product, the group in gaining ownership over their memory. This communication examines the case study, analyzing the active construction of collective heritage by civil society without the involvement of cultural or political institutions.

Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the difficult heritage of homelessness, including its distinctive culture, relationships with the rules of academic researchers and professionals regarding who participates in and/or takes ownership of the heritage, and efforts to ameliorate and/or eradicate the “problem.”

Paper long abstract:

Homelessness is a worldwide problem that many people would prefer to overlook. Although reliable numbers are often elusive, estimates are that 150 million people (or 2 percent of the world’s population) are experiencing homelessness at any one time. Nevertheless, these millions are often not regarded as members of distinctive communities with a shared cultural heritage—as defined by the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This paper will first establish the elements that constitute the shared identity and difficult heritage of those who experiencing homelessness: their skills, traditions, specialized knowledge, resourcefulness, attitudes toward work, and codes of behavior that not only define and identify them as a distinctive group, but that also meet their needs as members of cultural communities that are struggling to survive.

The paper will also explore the positions of academic researchers, municipal officials, social workers, and community advocates regarding the rules of power and participation among those who are experiencing homelessness. Given that there are worldwide efforts to eradicate homelessness by finding affordable housing for everyone, what attempts (if any) should be made to sustain the distinctive culture and shared heritage of homelessness? Should a culture of extreme hardship be encouraged to continue and to sustain itself into the future, even if this may mean breaking the “rules” of progress and amelioration? How have researchers and professionals allowed or enabled homeless individuals to participate in and to take ownership of their own communities and their shared heritage?