The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Global Heritage and Development organizes a panel on the “Politics of Memory and Trauma” as part of the 11th International Convention of Asia Scholars, which will be organized by IIAS at Leiden University from 16 – 19 July 2019. The panel intends to discuss the notion of “contested heritage”, in light of the politics of memory and trauma.
Panel Title:
Contested Heritage and the Politics of Memory, Trauma and Mobility in Asia
Panel Organizers:
LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development and Irasec/Interdisciplinary Centre for
East Asian Studies (IZO)
The LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development and Irasec/Interdisciplinary Centre
for East Asian Studies (IZO) joint panels discuss the notion of “contested heritage”, in light
of the politics of memory, trauma and mobility. Wars and conflicts have a direct impact on
the tangible environment. Military architectures, war ruins, wrecks and monumental
memorials all together form what is known as conflict heritage. In Asia, a significant share of
conflict heritage remains absent from the heritage discourse. This may be attributed to many
reasons, of which: the lack of a proper recognition of this specific category of heritage.
Second, the contested nature of the heritage, and especially in the cases where human
causalities were involved, prevent governments from touching upon the subject. Third, the
conflict of interests which results from the economic value of this heritage. For instance, the
collection of rare types of aircraft wreckage or the activities carried by metal salvagers. What
can we do to safeguard this type of heritage from its biggest threat: oblivion?
With the first panel we hope to raise awareness on this particular category of heritage,
especially with policy makers. The panel includes contributions that address the following
topics:
. New theoretical approaches to defining conflict heritage, with respect to the Asian context.
. Case studies from Asia that investigates the politics and dynamics of memory that surrounds
contested heritage.
