The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities
This article explores the role that heritage might play in the representation of ‘difference’, within the context of neoliberal cities. The case is a large-scale urban change in the former working-class neighborhood of Gamlestaden, Sweden. Interviews and on-site observations revealed how authorized...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Heritage |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/92 |
| _version_ | 1797519018837409792 |
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| author | Feras Hammami |
| author_facet | Feras Hammami |
| author_sort | Feras Hammami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the role that heritage might play in the representation of ‘difference’, within the context of neoliberal cities. The case is a large-scale urban change in the former working-class neighborhood of Gamlestaden, Sweden. Interviews and on-site observations revealed how authorized heritage practices can enable the celebration of particular social and cultural values, while naturalizing the erasure of others. People’s cultural diversity, and diverging interpretations of the past, have been guided by the power of heritage into a process of subjectification, according to which only ‘unthreatening’ forms of cultural diversity were celebrated and revealed legitimate. The ‘fetishized’ difference and particular historical records have served to conceal the political interest at stake in its’ production and maintenance, and led to a politicised representation of cultural diversity through what Annie Coombes’ terms ‘scopic feast’. All this was made possible through BID, the first neoliberal business improvement district model in Sweden, and its investment in a deeply rooted process of heritageisation. Uncritical engagement with difference in the context of heritage management and neoliberal urban development, make it appear almost natural to erase the cultural values that fall outside the authorized narrative of value. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:37:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-224bc6a3d4e54532a4245943ee7779ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:37:26Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-224bc6a3d4e54532a4245943ee7779ec2023-11-22T13:19:55ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082021-08-01431660168010.3390/heritage4030092The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal CitiesFeras Hammami0Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, SwedenThis article explores the role that heritage might play in the representation of ‘difference’, within the context of neoliberal cities. The case is a large-scale urban change in the former working-class neighborhood of Gamlestaden, Sweden. Interviews and on-site observations revealed how authorized heritage practices can enable the celebration of particular social and cultural values, while naturalizing the erasure of others. People’s cultural diversity, and diverging interpretations of the past, have been guided by the power of heritage into a process of subjectification, according to which only ‘unthreatening’ forms of cultural diversity were celebrated and revealed legitimate. The ‘fetishized’ difference and particular historical records have served to conceal the political interest at stake in its’ production and maintenance, and led to a politicised representation of cultural diversity through what Annie Coombes’ terms ‘scopic feast’. All this was made possible through BID, the first neoliberal business improvement district model in Sweden, and its investment in a deeply rooted process of heritageisation. Uncritical engagement with difference in the context of heritage management and neoliberal urban development, make it appear almost natural to erase the cultural values that fall outside the authorized narrative of value.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/92heritagedifferencecitiesunthreatening diversityjustice |
| spellingShingle | Feras Hammami The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities Heritage heritage difference cities unthreatening diversity justice |
| title | The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities |
| title_full | The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities |
| title_fullStr | The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities |
| title_short | The Scopic Feast of Heritage and the Invention of Unthreatening Diversity in Neoliberal Cities |
| title_sort | scopic feast of heritage and the invention of unthreatening diversity in neoliberal cities |
| topic | heritage difference cities unthreatening diversity justice |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/92 |
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