The Politics of Shared Heritage: Contested Histories and Participatory Memory Work in the Post-Colonial Urban Landscape

Abstract

Shared heritage is a concept that serves to address cultural ties between countries or people that emanate from colonial history, including conflicts and contestations as well as connections and commonalities. This contribution evaluates the potential of shared heritage to work as a tool for a transformative heritage management practice through exploring the post-colonial heritage landscape of Iringa, Tanzania. The historical dynamics of colonialism have left various tangible and intangible traces throughout Iringa Town and Region. Combining ethnographic and historical methods, this paper examines historical narratives of different social groups, representations of these trajectories in the regional museum, and community responses to buildings and sites of colonial origin in the cityscape. In line with UNESCO’s Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, observed applied conservation activities are discussed in the light of local development processes. I argue that shared heritage can serve as a viable concept to grapple with the colonial legacy vested in the HUL while at the same time using the discursive energy provided by these conflicts to support the cultural, social, and economic development of communities.