Ali Mozaffari

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PUBLISHER

Routledge

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Heritage processes vary according to cultural, national, geographical, and historical contexts. This volume is unique in that it is dedicated to approaching the analysis of heritage through the concepts of social movements. Adapting the latest developments in the field of social movements, the chapters examine the formation, use and contestation of heritage by various official, non-official and activist players and the spaces where such ongoing negotiations and contestation take place. By bringing social movements into heritage studies, the book advocates a shift of perspective in understanding heritage, one that is no longer bound by (at times arbitrary) divisions such as those assumed between the state and people or between experts and non-experts. 

REVIEWS

’World Heritage designation may hinder further transformations of locality, but Pasargadae resists one-dimensional interpretations nonetheless. Chapters in this volume acknowledge disciplinary co-creations of place, while creatively presenting a palimpsest of meanings through unique and timely debates. This is a fascinating example of a multidisciplinary approach to the construction of heritage value that resists predictable forms of analyses.’ 

Trinidad Rico, UCL Qatar 

’This volume represents an important addition to the available literature on Pasargadae. Ali Mozaffari and his co-authors explore the numerous ways in which the 'afterlife' of one of Iran's most memorable sites still calls for detailed, on-going investigation. The tension that exists between the needs of the monuments and the needs of modern local communities is but one of many topics that receives deserved notice.’ 

David Stronach, Emeritus Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA 

'The collection of articles brought together by Ali Mozaffari provides a thorough and multi-layered study of Pasargadae as a World Heritage site. This book on the city of Cyrus the Great not only does justice to its proper historical and archaeological place in history, but is also a great contribution to our understanding of the relationship between the site, the environment and the people who live there.' 

Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine, USA 

’An excellent introduction to the historical and modern significance of this World Heritage site. It is an important milestone in the development of the heritage literature, because it explains the world-historical importance of the site for our own cultural heritage (in which it has been overshadowed by Greece), and for Iran in the modern Middle East.’ 

Brian Spooner, University of Pennsylvania, USA  

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