The Narration of Contested Cultures
The role of narrative structure in the renewal of Cultural Identity
Eviction, Resettlement and contestation of Jewish practices across Europe and the United Kingdom : A historical narrative drawing on narrative styles and sequence of the Golden Haggadah
Abstract
According to Hayden White, “history is essentially a narrative discourse” (White, 1971) which cannot lay claim to fundamental truths. In the interest of deriving narrative intent and closure, cause and effect relationships have defined the structure of the historical and cultural narratives. These narratives are structured through retrospective and prospective historical timelines (Harvey, 2008) rendering both process and product a consequence of linear or relative sequencing of events that demonstrate the influence of the past on the present and future. The research discusses the perception of heritage through the formulation of narratives by means of historical trajectories specific to social, religious and ethnic groups.
Cultural arguments based on diverse forms of narration have aided the process of identifying and defending underrepresented forms of heritage pertaining to mainstream and subaltern cultures. The Bevis Marks Synagogue has undergone a lengthy planning process which has unraveled the nuances of political actors, co-operation and competition within built environment services, and the motivations of an international community in support of its protection. Contested by schemes of urban renewal which posed a threat to its stability and long-standing cultural capital in the Square Mile, the last few years have defined the significance of the synagogue with regard to Jewish cultural heritage in London and across the world. The research employs both methods of linear and relative sequencing to narrate the history of this establishment and present an argument in defence for its preservation.
Cultural Positions
Heritage Administration and Political Agency in the City of Westminster
Abstract
The industrialisation of heritage represented by processes that culminated in the creation of the ‘heritage sector’ in Britain was engineered through strategies of Conservative governance that emerged during the latter half of the 20th century. Political interests and their intersection with the discipline and practice of heritage formed the underlying rationale that was framed and articulated through the ‘Heritage Debates’ that gained prominence during the 1980s. The paper seeks to conceptualise their influence within a contemporary cultural and political climate that translates into layered, multi-scalar strategies illustrating a fluidity and hybridity in the governance structures through both distributive and centralised forms of governance. In this context, the Restoration and Renewal Programme of the Palace of Westminster initiated in 2016 in London, reflects current debates and dynamics between the state, cultural practitioners, heritage organisations and the public. The discussion underscores strategies that have influenced the stewardship of a World Heritage Site and seeks to discern emerging roles of political and inter-disciplinary actants in the process of heritage governance.
Through All That Is Solid Melts into Air : The Experience of Modernity Marshall Berman attempts to “develop a series of visions and paradigms” which could facilitate a deeper engagement with history through a study of cultural and political movements. To Berman, the essence of modernity is encapsulated in the determination to survive the forces that threaten to disrupt independent thought and agency, enforced through bureaucratic structures that create impositions, reflecting imperialist notions and hegemonic identities. Within the discipline of architecture and urbanism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this manifested by means of a public, democratic outlook which endowed the modern movement with an approachable dimension redirected towards empowering the citizen. Contemporary discourse on post-modernity was borne in late-twentieth century France in a post-structuralist environment created by Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard. Post-modernist thinking discarded both notions of modernism, of pure form and pure revolt that served to constrict definitions, creating a reductionist image of the modernist spirit. In this context, the paper seeks to investigate models of design governance, comprising of institutional frameworks that ensure the management and delivery of architectural services, that embody and project these nuances by means of their operational frameworks in the field of heritage administration and cultural practice in London.
The site of the Restoration and Renewal Programme, Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament, City of Westminster, London.
Monumentality
A discussion on Alois Riegl's theoretical premise for Cultural Built Heritage
St. Paul's Cathedral and Listed buildings in the Fleet Street Conservation Area
Abstract
Alois Riegl has been credited with the conception of the values-based approach in conservation practice that ascribes value to a cultural property for purposes of protection and inventory. Riegl's work analyses the relationship between art, time and history. In addition, his work discusses cultural artefacts through the lens of the politics of representation this is not really addressed in the following paper, cultural significance and historical influence. He unpacks the monument's role as a ruin, the original intent of the builder, preserving history and cultural memory, and the effect of time as expressed through "age value" evident in its disintegration and decay. Conversely, Riegl has argued in favour of the restored monument, which preserves "historical value" and aims to create a dialogue with an evolving urban fabric. He asserts that the act of restoration assures the use-value of the monument, demonstrating a potential for its future incorporation as a conserved or repurposed cultural built form within the built environment.
The arguments presented employ Riegl's premise to conceptualize the London Wall as "preserved" fragments of ruin, which embody dissonance and age value, referring to a specific historical period. Secondly, they reiterate the significance of St. Paul's Cathedral as a "conserved" historical monument in the Fleet Street Conservation Area context to reintroduce a product of political and cultural conflict into the urban fabric to interrogate the possibility of a future for the past. These classifications and the relational dynamics binding history, memory and time demonstrate the evolution of the historical artefact and monument. Contemporary cultural discourse which contemporary discourse(s)? attempts to combine perception and practice what are we to understand by ‘perception’ and ‘practice’? with regard to age value and historical value, cogently demonstrating their relevance to heritage preservation. This is what is still missing from the paper – a re-reading of Riegl’s art historical and discursive system from within a contemporary perspective, also considering the current urban fabric and environment.