Politics and Practices of Cultural Heritage in the Middle East

Irene Maffi is Assistant Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Institute of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Lausanne. Rami Daher is Associate Professor of Architecture, German-Jordan University, Amman.

• IntroductionI. Historical PremisesChapter 1: Heritage as Cultural Capital in the Late Ottoman EmpireChapter 2: The Basilica Affair: Patrimonialization as a Colonial PracticeChapter 3: From Medieval Cairo to Belle Epoque Egypt: Outsiders, Dissonances and the Manufacturing of HeritageII. Arab Landscapes of HeritageChapter 4: Heritage as a Battleground: Development, Gentrification and the Politics of Preservation in the Contemporary Middle East Chapter 5: Arab Cultural Heritage and the Arab League: Constructing Identity through History Chapter 6: Exhibiting and Preserving Modern Art: Museums and Exhibition Spaces in the Arab World Chapter 7: Urban Heritage Reconsidered: Visioning the Contemporary City III. Local Actors and International Fluxes in the Heritage Domain Chapter 8: Notable Families and Urban Heritage Activists as Emergent Local Actors Chapter 9: The Domestic Heritage: Public or Private? Chapter 10: 'Al-Medina al-Qadima' of Damascus: Preservation of the Cultural Heritage Chapter 11: In Search for Identity: Jewish Heritage and the Idea of 'Maroc Pluriel' Chapter 12: History and Heritage Studies: Passing Interest or Epistemological Turn? Conclusion: The Destiny of a Western Paradigm in the Arab World

'The Politics and Practices of Cultural Heritage in the Middle East is an important book that shows how various forms of power, acting at different levels and in different sites, influence in subtle and imperceptible ways the making and sustenance of cultural heritage. It also illustrates how the definition and practices of heritage have always been highly politicised in an already politically hyper region. The book is truly an interdisciplinary one, whose benefits go way beyond the disciplines of its contributors.' Nezar AlSayyad, Professor of Architecture, Planning, Urban Design and Urban History and Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design 'As archaeological and historical edifices of the past crumble into the dust of contemporary violence in the Middle East, the issues examined by this important volume become more urgent with every passing day. Rami Daher and Irene Maffi examine the politics and practices of what becomes understood as "the material past" at particular times and in particular places. The case studies show how the past is understood, valorised, categorised, preserved and/or destroyed in various countries and settings, urban and rural, domestic and public. These processes illustrate complex outcomes of even more complex forces, which include the ideational, ideological, economic and political goals of a variety of actors from the very local to the global. With its historical, ethnographic and comparative breadth, its important introduction and masterly concluding chapter, this collection is sure to become a standard reference in critical studies of the Middle East region.' Seteney Shami, Arab Council for the Social Sciences and The Social Science Research Council