Heritage research and practice

Last week saw the launch of A Companion to Heritage Studies, a major reference work for Heritage research and practice, co-edited by Prof Máiréad Nic Craith and Prof Ulli Kockel from the IRC as well as Prof William Logan of Deakin University, Melbourne. A Companion to Heritage Studies is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art interdisciplinary reference work for the study of cultural heritage, published […]


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Roots and Routes of Germans in Contemporary Britain

by Ullrich Kockel In socio-cultural research, there has been a long-running argument pitching “roots” against “routes” as the source of identity. At a time when identities appear to become ever more detached from territorial connections, it makes sense to define cultural belonging in terms of the intensity of communication within one’s social field, even though […]


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Reporting from "Can Scotland Play a Leading Role in Defining Heritage?"

by Emma Hill What is Scotland’s relationship with the UNESCO Charter for the Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage?  What should it be? How can ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ be defined?  Should it be defined at all?  Can ‘heritage’ be split into ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’ features?  Should it be split? Who defines a ‘heritage’ project?  What does ‘community’ […]


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Ethnology Crossroads

Reporting back from Ethnology Crossroads Conference by Prof. Máiread Nic Craith, Anna Koryczan and Cristina Clopot Ethnology Crossroads was a two-day conference organized by the European Ethnological Research Centre in collaboration with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, held on December 5-6th in Edinburgh. The aim was to assess the current state of ethnology in Scotland but […]


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Russian Old Believers in Romania – Heritage Highlights

by Cristina Clopot ‘What is the future of the past?’ asked Christina Cameron, a prominent researcher within heritage studies, and she was not the only researcher to ponder on this question. An increased awareness of the richness of past inheritance is not directly linked with recipes to take these forward to be enjoyed by the […]


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Does culture make any money?

by Ullrich Kockel “Sculpture, poetry, theatre – tell me,” says Didzis Meḷḳis, “does culture make any money?” We are sitting in an office in the Latvian Academy of Culture: the International Editor of Dienas bizness, the business section of Latvia’s leading daily broadsheet, and I, Professor of Culture and Economy at Heriot-Watt, having just delivered […]


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