To Share or Not to Share? Shared Heritage in the Post-Colonial Context
(2026) Elgar Research Handbook on Art, Culture and Heritage — ISBN: [9781800374218], 587-611, published
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- The concept of shared heritage is often used in the heritage discourse. Yet it contains specific insights regarding the post-colonial context. How can then the broad concept of shared heritage be defined in legal terms? Does the idea of shared heritage entail a type of shared property rights over artifacts? This interpretation would imply that heritage is viewed as a common good. However, this perspective may face challenges, especially in the context of colonial heritage and the ongoing debate on restitution. Nonetheless, it could be worthwhile to explore how arguments rooted in cultural human rights can be applied to this model on an international scale. Shared heritage might also encompass the idea of shared responsibility towards heritage. From a legal standpoint, this could entail a form of preventive and participative responsibility involving multiple stakeholders, including communities, for the protection of colonial heritage. In this paper, both of these legal interpretations of shared heritage will be critically assessed, while also emphasizing the importance of sharing knowledge and understanding of heritage, not solely limited to the physical objects themselves. The focus will lie on the cultural objects displaced in the colonial context.
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de Clippele, M.-S. (2026). To Share or Not to Share? Shared Heritage in the Post-Colonial Context. In Antoinette Maget Dominice, Sophie Vigneron and Janet Ulph (ed.), Elgar Research Handbook on Art, Culture and Heritage (pp. 587-611). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800374225.00044