Polarized Pasts

Heritage and Belonging in Times of Political Polarization

Buch | Hardcover

234 Seiten

2023
Berghahn Books (Verlag)
9781800738485 (ISBN)

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When questions of belonging enter the forefront of political debates, so too does heritage. From different ends at the political spectrum, people invoke the past to validate their stance on immigration, equality and security. Together, the texts pave the way for a better understanding of the role of the heritage in society.

When questions of belonging enter the forefront of political debates, so too does heritage. This volume draws critical voices from archaeology, anthropology and the classics into a conversation about political uses of the past in times of radical right populism. The authors show how ancient monuments and sites, bygone eras and political regimes, and even your genetic ancestry, can become wrapped up in polarized political debates. They also highlight how heritage, which is often thought of as a common good, can be dangerous in times of political polarization – erasing nuances between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Together, the texts pave the way for a better understanding of the political role of heritage in society.

Elisabeth Niklasson is Lecturer in Cultural Heritage at University of Aberdeen. She pursues research on EU heritage policy and the uses of the past by political parties in Scandinavia.

List of Illustrations

Introduction: Heritage and Belonging in Times of Political Polarization

Elisabeth Niklasson

Chapter 1. Heritage, Memory, Race: The Culture of the Far Right

Chiara de Cesari

Chapter 2. Innocence Reinvented: Far-Right Mythmaking in Hungary

Cathrine Thorleifsson

Chapter 3. Possessive Pasts: Heritage in Far-Right Rhetoric in Scandinavia

Elisabeth Niklasson and Herdis Hølleland

Chapter 4. ‘Western Civilization’, White Supremacism and the Myth of a White Ancient Greece

Rebecca Futo Kennedy

Chapter 5. Memory between Repression and Deception: Germany’s Shattered Stratigraphies

Reinhard Bernbeck

Chapter 6. Walking through the Darkest Valley: Heritage and Hatred in the Era of Reactionary Populism

Alfredo González-Ruibal

Chapter 7. Is DNA a Dangerous Heritage?

Chip Colwell

Chapter 8. The Sigtuna Debacle: A Story of Ancient DNA, Immigrants, and Fake News in a Viking Age Town in Sweden

Anna Källén

Chapter 9. The Threat of Essence: Reflections on the Heritage of Racism and the Racism of Heritage

Michael Herzfeld

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	20.12.2022
Reihe/Serie	Explorations in Heritage Studies ; 8
Zusatzinfo	Bibliography; Index
Verlagsort	Oxford
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Hilfswissenschaften
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
ISBN-13	9781800738485 / 9781800738485
Zustand	Neuware