Heritage Studies Program
Heritage has grown as a field of academic inquiry. Heritage was once primarily the concern of architects, historians, art historians, archaeologists and material scientists, but now also involves the disciplines as diverse as planning, cultural geography, horticulture, anthropology, museum studies and indigenous studies. The study of heritage has moved beyond the documentation of places and the formulation of processes and practices for conservation and management, to consider why people want to conserve the past, how people make meaning from the past and how heritage contributes to the formation of national, local and individual identities. Heritage has conventionally been regarded as the material legacy of the past but has been re-defined as a complex and contested notion that is both a commodity and a cultural practice. Cultural landscapes, shared histories, contested ownership, intangible heritage, indigenous knowledge systems and community participation are all elements of the way we examine Heritage.
Heritage Studies facilitates an interdisciplinary approach to a field which is of special interest to students in many disciplines, including archaeology, art history, history, anthropology, environmental science and education.