The Cultural Property Debate

Lekakis, Stelios

doi:10.1002/9781118273289.ch36

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…This could be considered a result of several processes ongoing, for example political decolonisation, economic refocusing of development, and reflexive, post-modern criticism in social science research. Respective criticism on Europe-centred cultural concepts (for example, the 'humanity' ownership) formed cracks in the national appropriation of monuments and raised the 1980s question of 'who owns heritage' (Lekakis 2012). Despite the abundant bibliography, the enquiry led to a dead-end.…”

Section: Following the 'Social Turn'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greece has been at the forefront of 'cultural property' concept development, focusing on the nationalisation of cultural heritage along with other open-access resources (e.g. mines, forestries) by the nascent nation-state, pioneering what later became a mainstream activity for antiquities' source-countries (Lekakis 2012;Carman 2018: 167).…”

Section: The Case Of Greecementioning

confidence: 99%

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A Political Economy of Heritage and the Commons: A First Sketch Focusing on Greece

Lekakis¹

2020

Cultural Heritage in the Realm of the Commons: Conversations on the Case of Greece

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The commons today constitute a hotly debated topic with wide research range spanning from the natural resources to social and digital goods. However, discussions on heritage as commons are limited, considered mostly as part of the state politics and economics agenda. This chapter attempts to provide an initial sketch of the emerging field of heritage commons, based on empirical work carried out by the author in Greece; a country at the forefront of the development of the 'cultural property' notion for heritage, currently negotiating the public texture of its monuments and cultural economy. Commenting on the state enclosure of the past and subsequent practices by other agencies within this appropriation, this chapter attempts to redefine heritage and its components, drawing on their social and economic values and the tripartite schema of the commons (resources, involved communities, regulatory frame) towards a more democratic governance perspective.

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Section: Following the 'Social Turn'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Case Of Greecementioning

confidence: 99%

A Political Economy of Heritage and the Commons: A First Sketch Focusing on Greece

Lekakis¹

2020

Cultural Heritage in the Realm of the Commons: Conversations on the Case of Greece

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“…This cultural heritage mechanism was built on a pattern introduced in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; that of distancing the past from the present day in an observable place that could be studied to reveal itself. The official narratives that would bridge the distance with the reclaimed present constituted national histories; the overarching truth for the birth and the survival of the nation-state's soul and values through the centuries [25,26]. These narratives were anchored on and illustrated by the tangible remains of the past, monuments that were recast as national treasures.…”

Section: The Concept Of Heritage and Its Management: A Western Perspementioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing the Community Back: A Case Study of the Post-Earthquake Heritage Restoration in Kathmandu Valley

2018

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Heritage preservation is a resource-intensive activity nested among other processes in the public administration, related to identity building and touristic product enhancement. Strategies and schemata associated with heritage preservation sprang in the western world after WWII and they have been adapted, in the form of ‘heritage management’, in various contexts with questionable effectiveness regarding sustainability. Our paper discusses the case of the post-earthquake cultural, social and political landscape of the World Heritage Site of Kathmandu valley in Nepal. By reviewing the bibliography and drawing upon various case studies of post-earthquake heritage restoration, we focus on the traditional ways of managing human and cultural resources in the area as related to the modern national heritage management mechanism. We also examine how traditional practices, re-interpreted into a modern context, can point towards inclusive and sustainable forms of collaboration based on the commons. We shed light on the elements of an emerging management system that could protect the vulnerable monuments through community participation, adapted to the challenging realities of the Nepalese heritage and its stakeholders.

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“…However, the quest of continuity assembles a precarious environment, already known in the critique of the national appropriation of 'cultural property' (Lekakis 2012), where the nation-states call upon a glorious, uncontaminated and clearly imagined past. In this mode, modernisation could be bluntly mourned as a disruption in continuity (25-26), evoking a deadend nostalgia for the lost or even problematic interpretation of that uncontaminated past (see for example the concept of 'indigeneity' used for the pre-modern past of rural Greece, Hamilakis 2008).…”

Section: Towards a 'Living' Or A 'Zombie' Heritage Approach?mentioning

confidence: 99%