Social justice issues come in many forms, including the disproportionate impact that the Covid-19 virus and police brutality have had on African American populations. The law can be both a friend, and often a foe, for achieving justice. In the case of police brutality, qualified immunity gives police immense...
Pedagogy
Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage Preservation
It is with great excitement that I share the publication of my new book, co-edited with Barry Stiefel, Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage Preservation: Theory and Evidence-Based Practice, which was officially released by Routledge last week. (Google Books link here.) The official description is as follows: Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage...
An archaeological debate on challenging the status quo and why we need more discussion like this
The academy is well known for its production of silos; researchers who ought to share similar perspectives and knowledge in many cases rarely collaborate with each other. There are many reasons for this situation, which I will not explore here, but in terms of heritage, a good example is...
Skills, knowledge, and degrees/majors wanted by historic preservation employers
Developing curricula for historic preservation degree programs (bachelor’s and master’s) can be a frustrating experience because we lack useful data on the job market (e.g., what employers want from graduates) and curriculum standards. In addition, the field has no certifying or accrediting body, so there is no regular discussion...
The Rupture in Cultural Heritage Meanings: Where Are We Going? (Where Do We Want to Go?)
Recently, I was reading a post on LinkedIn where a World Heritage expert was attempting to define cultural heritage for the twenty-first century. Many people have tried to do this, especially in terms of World Heritage and state definitions of cultural heritage for use in the protection and inscription...
Do you teach in an historic preservation/heritage conservation program? How do you know you’re doing it well?
If you teach in an historic preservation or built heritage conservation program in a college or university, you may be aware that there are very few publications that directly address the pedagogical, curricular, and assessment needs of the field, especially from an international perspective. In fact, I would argue...
What will historic preservation look like in 50 years?
A few weeks ago, I attended the 7th National Forum on Preservation Practice hosted by Goucher College, which focused on the next 50 years of practice. One thing I’ve always liked about the National Forum is that it has a mix of both practitioners and academics, which helps to...
Special EDRA47 intensive on using social science evidence to change built heritage conservation practice
Environmental Design Research Association Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina, May 18, 2016 As part of my activities with the Environmental Design Research Association’s (EDRA’s) Historic Environment Knowledge Network, I have been working with my co-chair, April Allen, along with Ned Kaufman to design a day-long intensive on conservation and the...
Why don’t we care about the public’s understanding of authenticity?
The argument that historic preservation (or, if you’re outside of the United States, architectural conservation or built heritage conservation) is or is not a unique discipline still comes up on occasion in print and in conferences, which is surprising considering that the first degree programs (Columbia University or the...
Is there a job market for built heritage conservation specialists with a social science background?
One of the common perceptions of the social sciences—e.g., perspectives from anthropology, sociology, and psychology—is that that they are too academic, too erudite, and not sufficiently applied to have direct benefit for most people who don’t work in institutions of higher education. Of course, many of you who are...