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?