Books in the Elements in Critical Heritage series

This Element looks at the relationship between heritage and design by way of a case study approach. It offers up ten distinct portraits of a range of heritage makers located in Goa, a place that has been predicated on its difference, both historical and cultural, from the rest of India. A former Portuguese colonial enclave (1510-1961) surrounded by what was formerly British India (1776-1947), the author attempts to read Goa's heritage as a form of place-ness, a source of inspiration for further design work that taps into the Goa of the twenty-first century. The series of portraits are visual, literary, and sensorial, and take the reader on a heritage tour through a design landscape of villages, markets, photography festivals, tailors and clothing, books, architecture, painting, and decorative museums. They do so in order to explore heritage futures as increasingly dependent on innovation, design, and the role of the individual.

This research examines how museums and heritage sites can embrace a social justice approach to tackle inequalities and how they can empower disadvantaged groups to take an equal benefit from cultural resources. This Element argues that heritage institutions can use their collections of material culture more effectively to respond to social issues, and examines how they can promote equal access to resources for all people, regardless of their backgrounds. This research examines heritage and museum practices, ranging from critical and democratic approaches to authoritarian practices to expose the pitfalls and potentials therein. By analysing case studies, examining institutions' current efforts and suggesting opportunities for further development with regard to social justice, this Element argues that heritage sites and museums have great potential to tackle social issues and to create a platform for the equal redistribution of cultural resources, the recognition of diversities and the representation of diverse voices.