Anna Catalani

Inheriting slavery: making sense of a difficult heritage

In 1807, the British parliament decreed the abolition of the slave trade; since then, the places connected with the slave trade have physically ‘inherited’ its material traces and have become emotionally charged with historical memory. This article looks at the material inheritance of slavery and the challenges of its interpretation in historical sites, through the use of sound. Specifically, the article focuses on the Clifton National Heritage Park, an old slave plantation in Nassau (New Providence Island, Bahamas), and its interpretation via soundscapes. We will argue that the inheritance of slavery, as cultural trauma and collective memory, is ‘a form of remembrance’ that impact on identity formation: this can be interpreted, re-appropriated and attributed new meanings, for the benefits of both local and non-local communities.

Integrating Western and non-Western cultural expressions to further cultural and creative tourism: a case study.

The term cultural industries was coined more than half a century ago, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the broader concept of creative industries, covering a wide range of cultural, design and digital activity, captured the imagination of public policy-makers at national and city levels. Paralleling these developments has been the recognition of the phenomenon of cultural tourism and, more recently, the emergence of the idea of creative tourism, i.e. tourism programmes designed to engage tourists actively in cultural activity. This paper presents a case study of a creative tourism event which took place in 2012 in the city of Manchester in the UK. The festival, which celebrated West African culture, utilised existing cultural institutions of the city and drew on the talents of local and visiting members of West African community to engage not only tourists but also indigenous and Black and minority ethnic (BME) residents of Manchester in a variety of cultural activities. It thus used the focus of creative tourism to seek to foster community and cultural development as well as tourism.

Water & heritage: material, conceptual and spiritual connections

courtyard houses and these were converted into tourism services like hotels, guesthouses. We are told there was a lack of a sense of ownership over ‘their’ cultural heritage, or to keep the streets clean. Whilst I would not question these conclusions, here we might wonder about the wider politics of these spaces, about what is not discussed in terms of spatial and social processes, remembering this is Syria, a dictatorship about to teeter into civil war when the research was done. A country that had been opening up to wider investment and markets. As such we might argue that we need to be careful that place experience is not tackled in a somewhat reductionist vein. The author also points out that for international tourists local inhabitants are a major source of attraction and interest in these sites. This is an important point. But we never really hear whom these international tourists are. Most tourists in this region are from nearby countries, in Aleppo’s case from countries like Lebanon, yet, a ‘tourist’ is often seen by locals to be a European. The distinctions about who tourists are is important as we need to get away from focusing so much on North American/ European tourists as if they are the tourists. But there is so much more material that is interesting in these case studies. Much of it does seem to confirm, to varying degrees, the contradictions of tourism in World Heritage cities outlined in the first part of the book. Local inhabitants are not involved enough, are viewed as commodities for tourist consumption who are seen in a paternalistic way by planners as needing to see how jobs and income rely on tourists whom must be respected and pampered. At times, as in Acre, the local inhabitants are seen as a liability, mainly because they are Arabs. Misunderstandings abound between tourists and locals, though it is claimed ‘education’ may help solve these. Planners seek strategies to increase tourism numbers and length of stay in entrepreneurial strategies that potentially perpetuates a cycle of problems. Then behind these there are other struggles, tensions, real estate speculations and more. The work that has gone into these studies is really admirable. Whilst some of the methods taken might be quibbled over and debated, the author’s findings are really sharp, and contain lessons that can be compared with and applied in many other cities.

Fashionable Curiosities: Extreme Footwear as Wearable Fantasies

Abstract This paper considers extreme shoes and the visual statements they make about contemporary society, women and femininity. It argues that extreme shoes are puzzling yet charming objects, epitomizing a spectacle-centered society: they are part of unexpected, personal performances, which blend the boundaries of fashion and art and allow the wearers to shift from an ordinary “self” to the extraordinary “other.”

Owning memories: a tale of two cities

In 1894 Queen Victoria opened the Salford Docks, now known as Salford Quays, home of MediaCityUK. At the time, Salford Docks were considered a masterpiece of engineering, allowing Manchester to circumvent the route through Liverpool and have access to international trade. The area was an ambitious hub for commerce, industrial activity and job prospects. Although more than 100 years have passed, Salford Quays is again under the spotlight and has the ambition to be a contemporary contender in the cultural industries market – this time focussing, through MediacityUK, on moving the media industry away from London. In order to attract such a prestigious focus, the developers have responded by building waterside apartments, luxury housing and speedy infrastructure and by promoting a successful professional lifestyle, with cultural and cutting-edge designer events. However, the local community seems to be more than ever alienated from this process, the sense of cultural collective memory being diluted. Throughout this paper, we are considering issues relating both to the historical significance of Salford Quays as well as to its cultural legacy within the local community. In order to do so, we are addressing the following research questions: How can the past be brought to into the present to support a sense of identity cohesion? Can Salford shake off the image of a derelict area and become the innovative creative quarter, through the (living) memories of its community? We will argue that the reinvention of Salford Quays as a new cutting-edge creative quarter happens at the expense of the historical memory of the place. In this way, local people and local memories do not become an integral part of the regeneration strategy, but are almost erased from the whole process.

Particular thanks and obligations’: The communications made by women to the society of antiquaries between 1776 and 1837, and their significance

This paper brings together the evidence bearing on the relationship between the Society of Antiquaries and the women who contributed to it during a significant period when archaeology, through the work of such men as Samuel Lysons and Richard Colt Hoare, was beginning to emerge as a distinct field with its own conceptual and technical systems. It takes its departure from the first substantial appearance by a woman in the Societys publications in 1776, and continues until the accession of a female monarch, Victoria, in 1837, a period of just over sixty years. It explores what women did and what reception they received and assesses the significance of this within the wider processes of the development of an understanding of the past and the shaping of gender relationships through the medium of material culture, in a period that saw fundamental changes in many areas of intellectual and social life, including levels of material consumption and the sentiments surrounding consumerism.