The Heritage Complex in China

Held via Zoom – registration required: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclduyoqDsvHd1LhecaNb1jnCpLD8QBokJK

This presentation is based on my ongoing book project that explores nation building, archaeological practice, heritage discourse and place making in contemporary China. To understand the process of heritagization (Walsh 1992) occurring throughout China, this ethnography-based project considers the three main themes facing China today: accelerated urbanization concomitant with a distinctive urban Chinese modernity; contested relationships between the past and present; and the intersection at which global heritage discourse, state policy, and a diversified range of local interests meet. In this project, I have engaged in a behind-the-scenes exploration of A Archaeological Park —to understand how space is presented in the context of national narratives. This presentation explores how different actors – archaeologists, governmental officials, heritage practitioners, and local residents – negotiated with each other in their making of a local, national archaeological site into a World Heritage Site and a national archaeological park.

Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies