The first heritage international(s): rethinking global networks before UNESCO

Abstract

The paper discusses the global networks that shaped the making of heritage in the modern world. While most accounts of heritage internationalism have focused on the period since the foundation of UNESCO, the paper suggests a longer chronology to better understand the tensions between nationalism and internationalism. It proposes a framework for conceptualising the waves of successive and parallel heritage internationals since the 18th century and problematizes coherence and diversity within them. While not disputing a strong European dominance, the paper draws attention to the participation of non-Western actors and discusses spaces of collaboration and subversion. By adopting a long chronological perspective and paying attention to the multiplicity of actors that co-existed, the paper aims to also contribute to a better understanding of contemporary developments in three ways: It reveals the deep roots of heritage internationalisation and suggests modes of conceptualising disruptions and continuities. By thinking about a period in which no single institution represented these heritage internationally like UNESCO today, the paper secondly proposes to use a similar multi-actor perspective for the present; finally by discussing the relation between oppression, collaboration and subversion, it suggest ways of paying more attention to individual agency.