Dr. Laurajane SMITH
17th February, 2012
“Meeting all the students was the
best part of this trip,” Smith commented after her first Hong Kong visit. In
the afternoon on 17th February, Smith gathered around a table with
Professor Tracey Lu and five other postgraduate students to discuss a number of
heritage related topics when Smith had a chance to get to know and share her
insights about students’ research topics.
The almost two hour long meeting was
very enjoyable for everyone. Students were very enthusiastic in raising
different questions as well as stimulating some controversial debates concerning
many aspects of heritage studies. Some of the discussed issues include the
mission of UNESCO in cultural heritage management, the relationship between
memory and heritage, the functions of heritage, “authorized heritage discourse,”
capitalism and heritage, the question of authenticity, and the role of community
participation in heritage preservation.
Even though many topics have been
covered during the meeting, the discussion followed mainly two directions:
heritage and the past, and uses of heritage. When being questioned about what
the past is, Dr. Smith highlights the domination of the West, mainly referring
to Europe, in the construction of history. Many ICOMOS experts are Eurocentric.
Therefore, many heritage sites of the world outside Europe are unrecognized and
de-privileged. The example of the UNESCO world heritage list is further evidence.
Some students said that there is no way out of the situation with the
domination of Western power, but Smith saw the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Convention signed by UNESCO in 2003 as a good signal for the underrepresented
countries to show the world their heritage masterpieces.
The debate over the uses of heritage is
mainly a struggle between the state and the community. As Smith declares, “all
heritage is dissonant.” All heritage involves different groups of stakeholders
and conflicts are inevitable for any sort of heritage. She stresses that in the
past, the community was the one that is ignored and marginalized. But there has
been a dynamic change that the community gains more power in negotiating with
the government and gets legitimized by the nation in many cases.
The meeting did not only discuss the
broad understanding and theories of heritage studies; Smith said that she also
enjoyed learning about postgraduates’ research projects. Many of the students
who attended the meeting are conducting heritage-related topics, such as the
Blue House community museum in Hong Kong, the preservation of a Tang lineage
heritage, and the Cantonese Opera music community in Guangzhou. Smith gave many
valuable comments on students’ research and the students have learnt a lot from
her. The atmosphere of the whole meeting was very relaxed and warm. Two hours
seemed very short and the meeting ended with laughter.
Cheung, Ah Li
M.Phil Candidate
ahlileah[AT]yahoo.com.hk
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