הכינוס הארצי לשימור מורשת התרבות בישראל

The concept of Cultural Heritage—and indeed its practice all over the world—has undergone far-reaching changes in the last thirty years. This lecture will highlight some of the important ways that its function in modern society has been fundamentally altered. In a decided shift from an almost exclusive focus on material forms and fabric, heritage scholars and professionals have increasingly come to recognize and study how conservation and interpretation of historic structures and archaeological sites are, above all, social behaviors in the present with far-reaching political and economic impacts. This lecture will explore some key characteristics of heritage-making in the 21st century, including its entanglement with identity politics, mass tourism, populist nostalgia, and its global dissemination through digital applications and social media. Several trends will be highlighted: among them, the increasing importance of intangible values, the weaponization of heritage narratives, and the changing roles of the private sector and the nation-state as sponsors of cultural heritage projects and initiatives.

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Neil A. Silberman

An author and heritage scholar with a special interest in emerging trends and techniques for public engagement. He served for a decade as president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP) and as a member of the ICOMOS International Advisory Committee and Scientific Council. He served on the program committee of the last three ICOMOS General Assembly symposia and has also served as an ex-officio member of the US/ICOMOS board. In December 2015 he was named a Lifetime Fellow of US/ICOMOS.
He is currently a managing partner of Coherit Associates, an international consultancy specializing in capacity building and participatory public heritage programs. 
  His books and edited volumes on Heritage, Archaeology, and their impact on contemporary society include:The Oxford Handbook to Public Heritage Theory and Practice (with Angela Labrador, 2018), The Oxford Companion to Archaeology (2012); The Future of Heritage (2008); Who Owns the Past? (2007); Memory and Identity (2007); Heritage, New Technologies, and Local Development (2006); David and Solomon (2006); Archaeology and Society in the 21st Century (2001); The Bible Unearthed (with Israel Finkelstein, 2001); Invisible America (with Mark Leone, 1995); The Hidden Scrolls (1995); A Prophet From Amongst You (1992); Between Past and Present (1989); and Digging for God and Country (1982).
  From 2004 to 2007, he served as director of the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium. In 2008, he joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and became one of the founders of its Center for Heritage and Society. He also served as co-editor of its journal Heritage & Society (2008-2014) and is a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Cultural Property and the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies.
He has been awarded fellowships for his writing on the politics of archaeology and heritage by the Institute of Current World Affairs and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

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