Critical heritage studies

This special issue, dedicated to the theme of ‘critical heritage studies’, is in part one of the outcomes of the inaugural conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, 5–8 June 2012. Four of the articles included here are reworked versions of papers presented at that conference. The fifth, authored by Denis Byrne, we have included because it directly aligns with the aims of the conference for developing new theoretical avenues for heritage studies. This special issue also speaks to the Editorial written by Laurajane Smith for Volume 18, Issue 6 of IJHS, which provided a comprehensive overview of the aims and directions of both the Association and the Gothenberg conference. Here, we take as our point of departure Smith’s call in that Editorial for the ongoing development and articulation of a ‘critical heritage studies’. The papers contained herewith address that call in different, though complementary, ways. The first three, penned by Winter, Waterton & Watson, and Witcomb & Buckley, were written in the immediate aftermath of the conference and are thus in many ways a set of responses to the debates, discussions and talks that took place over the four days. The latter two papers by Harrison and Byrne focus on themes that currently lie at the heart of debates about heritage, such as those that seek to redefine the role played by processes of remembering/forgetting, as well as that played by material culture, in our interactions with the past in everyday life.