Sociology of World Heritage An Asian Perspective

Using mainly the perspectives of Japanese approaches to cultural heritage, the book critiques the European logic of cultural heritage enshrined by UNESCO. It contrasts a Western emphasis on monuments and sites, with an Asian emphasis on more intangible forms of heritage, which place less emphasis on a linear view of time. More practically, the authors also analyse the positive and negative impacts that UNESCO-listed status has had on sites in Asia, including Angkor Wat, Nagasaki, and Lijiang. Finally, they address fundamental questions about who gets to decide what counts as cultural heritage, and what the underlying rationale is for actively preserving heritage in the first place.
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