The Politics of Heritage: The Legacies of Race

Can heritage culture come to terms with the ideological issues at stake when confronting devolution, colonialism, slavery, asylum and globalization? The Politics of Heritage: Legacies of Raceexplores how the heritage industry and cultural policy have responded to questions of nation and national identity. The contributors consider such national issues as whose heritage is celebrated in heritage events and spaces, how heritage is taught in schools, the symbolism of the St. George Cross, and how heritage culture has adapted to take on board a more pluralistic idea of national identity. Such questions are also examined outside Britain, with chapters on how British heritage is imagined in New Zealand, South Africa and India. By interrogating the ways in which British heritage is organized in relation to changing understandings of 'ethnicity' and 'nation',The Politics of Heritage: Legacies of Raceasks what the possibilities are for new radical agendas that can imagine decentred andhybrid narratives of British history and identity.