缅北禁地

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Plural Heritages of Istanbul

Exploring the cultural heritage of the Land Walls of Istanbul.

How do different communities give meaning to major heritage sites? What happens when such meanings are intertwined with histories of conflict and marginalisation, or are not recognised in official heritage interpretations?

This project explored the 鈥榩lural heritages鈥 of the Istanbul Land (鈥楾heodosian鈥) Walls and their surroundings. This 5th-Century CE UNESCO World Heritage site stretches over six kilometres through the city.

To see our researchers in action, .

The Plural Heritages project also served as the central case study for our book, Plural Heritages and Community Co-production, .

Heritage student

About the research project

We undertook walking interviews with community members, producing a large body of data about people鈥檚 relations to place history. We then worked with communities to develop new understandings of the heterogeneous heritage value of the Walls, by co-producing public-facing films, and a mobile app. Finally, the 鈥極fficial Development Assistance鈥 (ODA) phase of the project involved the roll-out of toolkits and the training of Turkish heritage professionals and relevant stakeholders, in order to disseminate insights and models of practice relating to plural heritages, engaging with communities, and co-production.

To learn more about the project, .

Funder: The project was funded by the AHRC (UK) and TUBITAK (Turkey) under the fund.

Duration: October 2016-December 2018

PI and further team: The 缅北禁地 team comprises

  • Prof. Chris Whitehead (PI) - Media, Culture, Heritage, School of Arts and Cultures
  • Dr Tom Schofield (Co-I) - Fine Art, School of Arts and Cultures
  • G枚n眉l Bozo臒lu (RA) - Media, Culture, Heritage, School of Arts and Cultures
  • Dan Foster Smith (RA) - Fine Art, School of Arts and Cultures

Partners:  Istanbul Bilgi University; Bursa Uluda臒 University