Goudswaard, B., J. Bos, S. van Roode and H. Pape. 2012. Reverse Heritage: In search of a usable past. Heritage & Society 5(1): pp. 137-144.

This article illustrates how Japan’s involvement in international heritage discourse, in particular since the Nara Conference in 1994, played an important role in the development of a global understanding of heritage and what it constitutes. It explores the way the Ise Shrine came to be represented as an iconic example of an ‘Eastern approach’ to heritage to become central in the paradigm shift within global heritage discourse towards acknowledging cultural diversity. In this article, however, I argue that the presentation and understanding of the Ise Shrine has perpetuated a number of misconceptions about an Eastern approach to heritage conservation. In particular, its presentation and interpretation as a cultural site devoid of its distinct religious and political significance, limits what can be learned from it. This article argues that without full recognition of the religious beliefs intimately embedded in the traditional social structures, practices and attitudes related to heritage sites, recognition of cultural diversity would remain limited.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find a different perspective of interpreting a Second World War shared-heritage based on the case in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study was conducted at the Second World War sites in Thailand. The paper employed observation and interview of the local residents and other stakeholders at the site. Findings – Conventional interpretation of the Second World War sites in Thailand predominantly focusses on two approaches with a little involvement of the local residents. One emphasizes cruelty, loss, torture, or inhumanity with strong influence of the Australian approach. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, such interpretation could point out the culprit and gives audiences enmity against the loser of the war. Another politically underscores a strong connection between Thailand and Japan by presenting romanticized stories of wartime. The paper suggests that the way to bring Second World War shared-heritage site to life is to put an emphasis on the voice of the local residents rather than focussing on political agenda. Practical implications – The argument and recommendation raised in this paper will be particularly useful for the local residents and those who are involved in heritage management field. It would contribute to the better understanding and respect among people with different cultural backgrounds. Originality/value – The paper is the first study of a different view of the interpretation of Second World War shared-heritage. The argument raised in the paper would lead to a wider discussion among heritage professionals.

Akagawa, N. 2017. Reconsidering cultural heritage in East Asia. International Journal of Heritage Studies 23(6): pp. 605-606.

The world is scattered with jewels from our collective pasts. From the glittering Mogul mausoleum of the Taj Mahal in the heart of northern India, to the Neolithic stone huts on the remote, windswept island of Orkney in the Outer Hebrides. Material remnants remind us of extinct civilizations, forgotten people and lost worlds. What then of the things for which there are no material remains? What of the memories, ideas, beliefs and events that shaped the lives of these civilizations and of our own? What of this intangible heritage? We can record, preserve and protect for posterity the material leavings; can we do the same for the shadows that form the intangible associations with these places?

Kaufman, N. 2016. Perspectives from the Field: Non-disruption and non-emissions as cultural resources. Environmental Practice 18(3): 219-221.

Truscott, M. 2011. Peopling Places, Storying Spaces: Heritage Sustaining Human Development? Heritage & Society 4(1): pp. 125-134.

This paper considers considers the understandings of attachment, identity and place found within the communities of a small offshore Queensland Island: Magnetic Island, which is located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. Individuals, as members of the island community (which is characterised by various unbounded community groups), in living their day to day lives on the island, engage in a quest for identity and authenticity that is involved in a relationship between identity-making as a process and the way in which worlds and ways of living are meaningfully constituted. One of the outcomes is that the past is selectively constructed and organised in a relationship of continuity with the lived experience of the island environment and the nostalgic recreation and reinforcement of both place and community. In so doing the various physical features and intangible aspects of the island, and indeed the community itself, is imbued with cultural meanings that also act to reinforce the islander sense of marginality, difference and separation.

Marrying into the community whose culture you are studying opens up philosophical and practical quandaries for the researcher and facilitates opportunities that are not otherwise available. Marriage brings with it many subtle shifts in relationships within the community. George Orwell (1937) speaks of class difference but could equally have been talking of cultural difference when he said ‘it is not so much a stone wall as a plate glass pane of an aquarium; it is so easy to pretend that it isn’t there, and so impossible to get through it’. Does marriage enable you to cross that barrier? What difference, if any, is there in the nature of the resulting research and its benefits or otherwise to the community? This paper provides a glimpse into the author’s journey as a researcher in Northern Cape York Peninsula, Australia and reflects on the way interpersonal relationships influenced her approach to research.