1st Edition

Cultural Heritage in the Arabian Peninsula Debates, Discourses and Practices

By Karen Exell, Trinidad Rico Copyright 2014
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    226 Pages
    by Routledge

    Heritage projects in the Arabian Peninsula are developing rapidly. Museums and heritage sites are symbols of shifting national identities, and a way of placing the Arabian Peninsula states on the international map. Global, i.e. Western, heritage standards and practices have been utilised for the rapid injection of heritage expertise in museum development and site management and for international recognition. The use of Western heritage models in the Arabian Peninsula inspires two key areas for research which this book examines: the obscuring of indigenous concepts and practices of heritage and expressions of cultural identity; and the tensions between local/community concepts of heritage and identity and the new national identities being constructed through museums and heritage sites at a state level.

    Introduction, Karen Exell, Trinidad Rico; Part 1 Shifting Perspectives; Chapter 1 Islamophobia and the Location of Heritage Debates in the Arabian Peninsula, Trinidad Rico; Chapter 2 Concern Amid the Oysters as Pearling is Honoured: Nature and the Environment in Heritage Practice, Ian R. Simpson; Part 2 Museums, Museumification, Collecting; Chapter 3 Collecting an Alternative World: The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum in Qatar, Karen Exell; Chapter 4 Purposeful Ambiguity, Victoria Penziner Hightower; Chapter 5 Spectacle and Part icipation: A New Heritage Model from the UAE, Eric Langham, Darren Barker; Chapter 6 Heritage, Cosmopolitanism and Identity in Abu Dhabi, Sarina Wakefield; Chapter 7 The Development of the First Qatar National Museum, Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla; Part 3 Archaeological, Architectural and Urban Concerns; Chapter 8 Islamic Identities and Heritage Presentation in Bahrain, Rachel MacLean, Timothy Insoll; Chapter 9 Archaeological Site Management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Protection or Isolation?, Alaa Alrawaibah; Chapter 10 Preservation, Practice and Politics: Can Yemen Preserve Its Cultural Heritage?, Stephen J. Steinbeiser; Chapter 11 The Rehabilitation of the Muharraq Historical Centre, Bahrain: A Critical Narrative, Ali A. Alraouf; Chapter 12 The Msheireb Project in Doha: The Heritage of New Urban Design in Qatar, Nadine Scharfenort;

    Biography

    Karen Exell and Trinidad Rico, both at UCL Qatar, Qatar.

    ’The contributors capture precisely that which is different about heritage in the UAE. It is not about the past; it is about the present and the future. Emirati heritage is being created now and those of us working in the UAE appreciate just how dynamic and often politically charged the process of creation can be.' Jane Bristol-Rhys, Zayed University, UAE ’The book is a fresh and timely contribution to the understanding of the cultural and political dynamics connecting the Gulf States with Western museums and cultural heritage. It allows the reader to discover the variegated Arabian heritage landscapes where Islamic references, cosmopolitanism, Euro-American models and local history intermingle producing unexpected formations.’ Irene Maffi, University of Lausanne, Switzerland '... this volume offers a well-thought-out thesis about the nature of heritage development on the Arabian Peninsula ...' Middle East Media & Book Reviews