Communities and ethics in the heritage debates

Colwell, Chip and Joy, Charlotte (2015) Communities and ethics in the heritage debates. In, Global Heritage. Wiley. (doi:10.1002/9781394261154.ch5).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

In recent years a key contribution to research on heritage is the infusion of dialogues concerning ethics. In these works ethics are broadly conceived as the body of moral principles that should or actually do guide different kinds of heritage work. At a national or international level, heritage ethics become most closely identified with a cosmopolitan project of universal human rights. Nationalist projects seek to use a version of the past and associated culture products for the exclusive benefit of the state. One form of analysis is historical, with a focus on how heritage and archaeology have been subverted to construct histories that justify nationalist propaganda. The American Southwest provides an important case study to consider how ethics have become infused with heritage management, particularly in the context of descendant and Indigenous communities seeking to exert greater control over historical objects and places.

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