The 'visual' has long played a crucial role in forming experiences, associations, expectations and understandings of heritage. Images convey meaning within a range of practices, including tourism, identity construction, the popularization of the past through a variety of media, and the memorialization of events. However, despite the central role of 'the visual' in these contexts, it has been largely neglected in heritage literature. This edited collection is the first to explore the production, use and consumption of visual imagery as an integral part of heritage. Drawing on case studies from around the world, it provides a multidisciplinary analysis of heritage representations, combining complex understandings of the 'visual' from a wide range of disciplines, including heritage studies, sociology and cultural studies perspectives. In doing so, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and methodological tools necessary for understanding visual imagery within its cultural context.
'The obsession in heritage studies with monumentality and materiality has often led to the negligence of the emotional and visual affect that heritage can have. The range and breadth of chapters in this book offer an exciting and stimulating new way of considering and exploring the affect heritage has and its consequences for social debates and conflicts. This book contributes significantly to those debates in heritage studies that are working to re-theorize our understanding of heritage and its cultural significance.' Laurajane Smith, editor, International Journal of Heritage Studies 'This fascinating collection of essays firmly locates the visual at the heart of heritage studies. A multidisciplinary approach provides significant insights into the ways in which visual imagery shape and give meaning to encounters with the heritage. Henceforth visuality is an active participant in the on-going dialogue between the past and the present.' Catherine Palmer, University of Brighton, UK 'Culture, Heritage and Representation effectively introduces readers to the status of visual culture studies within heritage tourism and provides the apparatus to move debates forward. It is predominantly a book for an academic readership, particularly applicable to those researching and teaching heritage and tourist studies, although it may also be of use for those working within museum and heritage sectors.' Urban Studies