Cultural Heritage and the City (FutureLearn)

Cultural Heritage and the City (FutureLearn)

Discover how cities develop their own unique cultures and explore key concepts related to cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is usually discussed in national or religious terms: we speak of Italian culture, Greek civilization, Islamic art, and so on. But today cities are creating their own heritage through museums, galleries, markets of artistic goods, and urban networks.

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Cities project themselves as cultural hubs representing and connecting entire regions, for example Doha and the UAE, Singapore and Southeast Asia, Los Angeles and North America.
Using these and other examples, through this course you’ll explore exactly what is meant by urban cultural heritage and key concepts related to it.

Syllabus

Week 1: Cultural Heritage in an Urbanising World
Week 2: The Governance of Heritage
Week 3: Heritage and Urban Change

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explain what cultural heritage is, its different types and how it has emerged as an area of public policy
  • Identify the key actors of cultural heritage governance
  • Evaluate the impacts of cultural heritage projects on cities
  • Explain the tensions between urban development and cultural heritage
  • Compare the governance of heritage in different cities or countries

Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone interested in cultural heritage and cities, but it might be of particular interest to students of archaeology, sociology, and related subjects; urban practitioners like planners and community activists; or cultural heritage professionals like those working in tourism.

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