Paper short abstract:

Many heritage policies are anthropocentric. A range of naturalised others are dealt with as if they have no agency and hence the stage is open for appropriation and exploitation. The links between heritage and sustainable development are reviewed and the paper propose more affirmative methods.

Paper long abstract:

The paper outlines how a range of heritage policies and strategies, through their base in social constructivism, has a clear anthropocentric focus. Not only do they risk to downplay materiality, but also a number of human and non-human others, thereby driving a wedge between nature and culture. This may in turn provide a hinder for the use of heritage in sustainable development as it deals with range of naturalised others as if they have no agency and leave the stage open for appropriation and exploitation. This paper probes into what heritage could be in the wake of current climate and environmental challenges if approached differently. Here is explored how a selection of feminist post-humanisms changes the distinction between nature:culture and thereby shift the approach to sustainability in heritage making from a negative to an affirmative framing. With a background in an overview of research arguments for links between heritage and sustainable development the presentation asks the following questions: How would a feminist post-humanist approach, that focus on relations between human and non-human others provide an alternative to the anthropocentrism in the heritage sector? How would such a move affect how heritage is linked to sustainability?