heritage nineteenth century america Israel-Palestine heritage management Akko Israel Holy Land Amos Oz Raja Shehadeh conservation
Abstract:
This thesis develops a dynamic understanding of heritage as a process; actors use the past in the present for the future. The thesis explores this view of heritage through three case studies in Israel/ Palestine. The first chapter investigates ongoing conflict between stakeholder heritages at Akko, Israel over the conservation of Khan al-Umdan; the second chapter interrogates how two prominent post-1967 authors—one Israeli, one Palestinian—construct their personal and political conceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through their heritage; and the third chapter explores how three nineteenth century Americans constructed their individual relationships to the Holy Land through their wider Christian and American perspectives. The thesis brings together a wide range of periods, peoples, and scenarios to test the concept of heritage across a wider context. Careful analysis within each chapter and throughout the thesis demonstrates the innate nature of the process of heritage and its applicability as a framework for historical analysis.
