Nr 10 (2021): Heritage and the Post-Socialist City: Social and Cultural Perspectives

Complete list of reviewers for the issue 10 [Lista recenzentów numeru 10]

Conception and academic editing of this issue [Koncepcja i redakcja naukowa tomu]: Maciej Falski, Linda Kovářová

The notion of heritage has become one of the key concepts in conceiving culture as a set of symbolic practices. Moreover, heritage constitutes one of the main concerns of spatial policies throughout Europe. Both the European Union and national heritage institutions in individual countries develop various programs and special purpose funds to support the conservation of objects, practices, or buildings whose value is connected to the past. One of the mechanisms of building the symbolic value, which also has an impact on the economy, is the UNESCO World Heritage List. Heritage is also crucial in any discussion on national identity. We propose to open a discussion on heritage in a specific context of the post-socialist urban and rural areas. The process of cultural, social, and economic transformation and development had an impact on guarding, protecting, and creating heritage. The end of the socialist era also brought a new problem of objects, monuments, and structures related to the previous period. One case in point is the fate of industrial complexes which are no longer in use, remaining an unwanted burden. On the other hand, however, such objects gradually receive the attention of photographers or explorers as witnesses of the past. For anthropologists and sociologists, the question of symbolic practices in the era of transformation constitutes another important research field. The papers presented in this volume of Colloquia Humanistica shed light on various aspects of the issues in focus.