Short Abstract

In this workshop we ask how dominant frames of religious heritage and practices both exclude and include minority Christians. We are interested in ethnographic investigations and strategies to include the full scale of Christian heritage in European heritage canons.

Long Abstract

In this workshop we ask how dominant frames of religious heritage and practices both exclude and include minority Christians. Christians from various parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, and the Americas are, as a consequence of European colonialism, the mission, migration and other forms of connectedness part of the cultural heritage of Christianity of Europe. However, intensifying nationalist discourse about Judeo-Christian roots of the West increasingly emphasize Christianity in nativist terms based on explicitly white experiences. European heritage canons and institutions do not systematically include Christians from other parts of the world in their collections and curatorial practice. Despite efforts from grass roots groups and heritage institutions, attempts to ameliorate this situation have not often been successful. In this panel we are interested in ethnographic investigations into questions concerning why such initiatives have struggled, and how to provide better strategies to include the full scale of Christian heritage in European heritage canons.

In particular, this workshop calls for case studies that use visual methods. Presenters are invited to illustrate their analysis with visual data. This will be the basis for plenary discussion and analysis.