Culture And Heritage Perspectives From History

The course will address issues which pertain to the debates and discussions of culture
and heritage. One of the most neglected resources in any society is the intangible
aspects of its cultural and historical heritage. Some countries and regions within
countries have been quite successful in marketing certain segments of their cultural and
historical heritage. One of the most successful examples in Southeast Asia is Bali,
which manages to promote both older and more recently created cultural practices and
performances as -traditions-. Today Bali can still be considered a living heritage site in
the sense that the Balinese continue their daily ritual practices and routines. However
the authenticity of some of the art forms and performances can be questioned. Though
this course will address theoretical issues and examples from various places in the
world, class discussions and case studies will come predominantly from Asian
examples. Some questions to be addressed include the following: what can be
considered cultural and historical heritage in each society? Can these be divided into
categories such as good and bad, marketable and non-marketable, representative and
non-representative, etc? How does a person use heritage tourism as a means of
preserving cultural and historical heritage of people who are gradually -losing- their
pasts?