Cultural Heritage and the Future

Cornelius Holtorf is Professor of Archaeology and holds a UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures at Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, where he is also directing the Graduate School in Contract Archaeology (GRASCA). In his research, he is particularly interested in contemporary archaeology, heritage theory and heritage futures, with numerous international publications in these areas. He also likes sailing.Anders Högberg is Professor of Archaeology at Linnaeus University and Associated Researcher at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has broad research interests, and is currently working with projects on heritage futures, migration and cognitive evolution.

• Preface; 1. Introduction: Cultural heritage as a futuristic field; Section 1: The future in heritage studies and heritage management; 2. Heritage practices as future-making practices; 3. Heritage, thrift, and our children’s children; 4. Perceptions of the future in preservation strategies (Or: Why Eyssl von Eysselsberg’s body is no longer taken across the lake); 5. The future and management of ICH in China from a legal perspective; Section 2: The future in cultural heritage; 6. Decolonizing the future. Folk art environments and the temporality of heritage; 7. The spectre of non-completion: An archaeological approach to half-built buildings; 8. An archaeology of Cold War armageddonism through the lens of Scientology; 9. Future visions and the heritage of space: Nostalgia for infinity; Section 3: Re-thinking heritage futures; 10. What lies ahead? Nuclear waste as cultural heritage of the future; 11. The future in the past, the past in the future; 12. Radioactive heritage of the future: A legacy of risk; Section 4: Heritage and future-making; 13. Sustainability, intergenerational equity, and pluralism: Can heritage conservation create alternative futures?; 14. Palliative curation and future persistence: Life after death; 15. The future, atemporality, and heritage: "Yesterday´s tomorrow is not today"; 16. Heritages of futures thinking: Strategic foresight and critical futures; 17. Final reflections: The future of heritage

"This book is … about the various ways to engage with cultural heritage in the light of ‘futures thinking’. Through its carefully selected mix of theoretical and practical case studies, it will undoubtedly become a flagship text for anyone interested in exploring the interconnections between cultural heritage and the future." - Antiquity"The book is illuminating and provides a valuable compendium and a fascinating timeline for the last decade of thinking." - News in Conservation, International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works