Special Collection: Heritage and Uncertainty

EDITORS
Dacia Viejo Rose, University of Cambridge
Alisa Santikarn, University of Cambridge
Oliver Antczak, University of Cambridge
Mariana P.L. Pereira, University of Cambridge
Isavella Voulgareli, University of Cambridge

Heritage is used as an anchor – a generator of certainty that keeps our senses of self and identity secure, reaffirming our feelings of place and belonging through turbulent times. Heritage is turned to as a constant in times of change. Increasingly, however, this security we search for in heritage has been thwarted. While the future has always been uncertain, now the seemingly firm foundations of the past have been unsettled. We have seen more recently how previously accepted national narratives are being reckoned with, particularly in the contexts of empire, slavery and colonialism. The perceived stability of heritage has thus been shaken to its core, unsettled by challenges about its origin, ownership, purpose, and manifestations.