Living With Ghosts?

Heritage is commonly understood as denoting sites, objects and traditions that are selected and protected for their uniqueness, monumentality, beauty and/or historical and cultural significance. Heritage, thus, is almost by definition something unquestionably valuable and good, and of outmost import...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Contemporary Archaeology
Main Author: Olsen, Bjornar
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Equinox Publishing 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jca.21646
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/download/21646/25864
Description
Summary:Heritage is commonly understood as denoting sites, objects and traditions that are selected and protected for their uniqueness, monumentality, beauty and/or historical and cultural significance. Heritage, thus, is almost by definition something unquestionably valuable and good, and of outmost importance for our wellbeing and identity. This paper takes a different position and asks what happens if we question heritage’s status as a selected reserve of desired things and traditions. Based on fieldwork conducted in contemporary settlements in the Russian North, it explores how the role and significance we ascribe heritage may come out radically altered upon facing the unruly legacies of the Soviet past.