The Idea of Cultural Heritage

This book reviews the competing claims that works of art belong either to a particular people and place, or to humankind.

Derek Gillman (Author)

9780521192552, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 April 2010

218 pages, 18 b/w illus. 1 map
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.46 kg

"This book is of value for Canadian archaeologists working both at home and abroad for a number of reasons." --Jeffrey Seibert, Journal Canadien D'Archeologie 36

The idea of cultural heritage has become widespread in many countries, justifying government regulation and providing the background to disputes over valuable works of art and architecture. In this book, Derek Gillman uses several well-known cases from Asia, Europe, and the United States to review the competing claims that works of art belong either to a particular people and place, or, from a cosmopolitan perspective, to all of humankind. He looks at the ways in which the idea of heritage has been constructed. He focuses first on Britain and the writings of Edmund Burke and then on China and its medieval debate about the nature of 'our culture'. Drawing on a range of sources, including the work of Ronald Dworkin, Will Kymlicka, and Joseph Raz, Gillman relates debates about heritage to those in contemporary political philosophy and offers a liberal approach to moral claims and government regulation.

Introduction
Part I. Claims about Heritage: 1. Heritage and national treasures
2. 'Two ways of thinking'
Part II. Narrative and Custom: 3. Constructing British heritage
4. This culture of ours
Part III. Regulation and Rights: 5. Regulation and private rights
6. Liberalism and valuable practices.

Subject Areas: Public international law [LBB], Jurisprudence & philosophy of law [LAB], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Archaeology [HD]