Urban Heritage: documentation and critical readings

What is 'urban heritage', how is it defined, and why? Why define 'heritage' in the city in the first place? How does the conceptual designation affect the practice of conservation, and how are they both related to the future planning of the city?

In the course/seminar we wish to develop a critical discourse of urban heritage, going above and beyond the accepted canon, and which is derived by questions regarding the right to the city and its past, the democratization of space and decolonization. We will establish a theoretical basis from which the students may derive tools for critical thinking regarding urban heritage, and more specifically, the documentation of urban space, which is the basis for the designation of heritage. We will examine the foundations of the definition of a site as part of local heritage over time and will encourage the students to create alternative readings by using a variety of documentation methods: archival, oral, literary, documentary and more.

The outcomes expected from the students will vary: Course students will submit a theoretical paper; seminar students will submit a combined paper of theory and practice.