Cultural Heritage Abroad: Field Boundaries

Abstract

The paper considers the concept of the conservation of cultural heritage that "belongs" or is ascribed to the state, and is located beyond its borders, that is, the manner in which the concepts of culture and heritage are constructed, and the (possible) conservation mechanisms that derive from differently defined frameworks of cultural heritage. It examines aspects of the concept of cultural diversity and heritage conservation that are at first glance hidden, namely ownership (the Judeo-Christian concept as the only possible/best of all), control (of territory, of the past and the future) and the power deriving from this. A question that is given special consideration is the relationship between identity politics as a globally supported and locally interpreted/implemented conceptualization of cultural heritage and the implementation of the UNESCO concept of culture, as a (seemingly) anti-globalization trend. It is shown that behind this relation there continues to lie a conflict between two great metanarratives (the Enlightenment and Romanticism), which have shaped western civilization over the last two centuries.