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- Convenors:
-
Manuela Vinai
(University of Turin)
Audhild Lindheim Kennedy (Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum)
Francisco Rivera (University of Toronto)
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- Format:
- Panel
Short Abstract:
This panel explores how industrialisation shapes heritage and economic growth narratives. We invite papers that examine the un-writing of industrial ‘heritage’ fairy tales and reinterpret these narratives, with a focus on ethnographic examples that challenge conventional perspectives and practices.
Long Abstract:
The waves of industrialisation that have taken place in the world since the mid-18th century have given rise to hegemonic frameworks that limit our thinking to economic growth and our relationship with the natural world and the landscapes that surround us. What occurs when industry is perceived as heritage? Laurajane Smith (2020) points out that industrial heritage is unlike other forms of heritage. It is often based on personal and familial connections to an industrial site or heritage object; moreover, industrial heritage allows for ‘empathetic reflections based on historical gratitude’ (Smith 2020, 135).
The industrial narrative appropriates the hardships of the working class, transforming them into symbols of dedication and unity, framing them as part of a shared effort toward the success of production, which in turn becomes a source of collective identity. When a process of deindustrialisation occurs, it changes not only the production model but also an entire system of cultural identification (Walley 2013). Deindustrialisation involves an un-tailoring process that necessitates a reinterpretation of the industrial narrative and ‘becomes a process of rewriting an historic identity’ (Nettleingham 2019).
In this panel, we invite papers that explore the un-writing of what we consider ‘heritage’ fairy tales, often exemplified in the form of an industrial fairy tale – romanticising and emphasising human attempts at controlling or domesticating nature (Birkeland 2008).
We encourage contributions that showcase ethnographic examples of un-writing the (industrial) heritage fairy tales, viewed as a call to reflect on our practices and how they may differ from others.
This Panel has so far received 2 paper proposal(s).
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