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Heritage, Conflict, and Reconstructions: From Reconstructing Monuments to Reconstructing Societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2020

Alkindi Aljawabra Open the ORCID record for Alkindi Aljawabra [Opens in a new window]
Alkindi Aljawabra*
Affiliation:
University College London, UCL Qatar, Doha, Qatar; Email: Alkindi.jawabra.13@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article reflects on the arguments that heritage is as much about people as it is about places and objects. It is focused on Syria and based on a doctoral research project. The article investigates how heritage is approached by both “civil society” groups and extremist religious groups in Syria. It argues that the utilization of heritage by these groups offers learning lessons and examples of people-centered, socially innovative, and future-oriented heritage practices. The article suggests that the heritage community’s efforts in conflict contexts should be less about preservation and more about embracing change and finding creative ways to manage the transformation process from a pre-conflict society to a post-conflict society. In other words, they should tackle issues that matter to conflict-affected people, improve the quality of their life, and increase their horizons of hope and opportunities in assembling better futures.

Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 27 , Special Issue 2: Special Issue: Authenticity and Reconstruction , May 2020 , pp. 165 - 187
Copyright
© International Cultural Property Society 2020

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Footnotes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: My sincere gratitude goes to the research participants and Olive Branch members for sharing their knowledge, experience, and photographs with me; to University College London in Qatar (UCL Qatar) and Qatar Foundation for funding my PhD research project; to my research supervisors, Karen Exell and Murray Fraser, for their constant support and guidance; and to the colleagues at the ICOMOS University Forum workshop, the workshop’s Editorial Committee, and the peer reviewers for their constructive and stimulating comments on earlier drafts of this article.

References

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