Heritage and Memory of Conflict

One strand of research interrogates historical conflicts and how they affected processes of identity formation and their representation in texts, material objects, landscapes and built environment.

Historical Conflicts and their Impact on Processes of Identity Formation

Another approach is to examine the dynamic afterlife of conflicts. Why have some been remembered and others forgotten? How have later generations used art, fiction, films, and institutions to come to terms with historical traumas? When and how have geographical spaces been perceived as places of memory, and  transformed into heritage sites?

Contested Heritage

A third approach is to analyze heritage itself as a source of conflict and highlight the related themes of ownership, appropriation, destruction, and restitution. The domain’s key themes are therefore heritage and memory of conflict, historical conflicts and their impact on processes of identity formation, and contested heritage.