Negotiating identities and ‘sense of place’ in a world heritage city: the case of George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

[摘要] World Heritage designation which focuses on buildings and monuments frequently belies the complexities of human interaction with these structures and how this interaction changes over time. This study examines the interplay between local communities and the spaces and structures of the World Heritage Site of George Town, Malaysia. In the city of George Town, inscribed on the World Heritage List in part, for its tangible multicultural heritage and in recognition of its intangible heritage, I conducted work that problematised the relationships between its local communities and the postcolonial heritages they inhabit. Using grounded theory and employing observational work and semi-structured interviews, I explored how local communities construct and negotiate their own spaces and ‘sense of place’ within, but often disconnected from, the larger codified framework of the city’s ‘official’ heritage designation. Through various interpretative ‘frames’ I show how identities are forged more through intangible practices and traditions than through tangible heritage markers. I also determine how the multicultural communities within the World Heritage Site are caught up in power struggles at various levels, which reflect back on the ways in which they seek to claim and use their own senses of place.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of History and Cultures, Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage (IIICH)

[关键词] D History General and Old World;DS Asia