Design and Heritage provides the first extended study of heritage from the point of view of design history. Exploring the material objects and spaces that contribute to our experience of heritage, the volume also examines the processes and practices that shape them.

Bringing together 18 case studies, written by authors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Norway, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the book questions how design functions to produce heritage. Including provocative case studies of objects that reinterpret visual symbols of cultural identity and buildings and monuments that evoke feelings of national pride and historical memory, as well as landscapes embedded with trauma, contributors consider how we can work to develop adequate shared conceptual models of heritage and apply them to design and its histories. Exploring the distinction between tangible and intangible heritages, the chapters consider what these categories mean for design history and heritage. Finally, the book questions whether it might be possible to promote a truly equitable understanding of heritage that illuminates the social, cultural and economic roles of design.

Design and Heritage demonstrates that design historical methods of inquiry contribute significantly to critical heritage studies. Academics, researchers and students engaged in the study of heritage, design history, material culture, folklore, art history, architectural history and social and cultural history will find much to interest them within the pages of the book.

About the Author

Grace Lees-Maffei is Professor of Design History and Programme Director for DHeritage, the Professional Doctorate in Heritage, at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, and Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Design History. She researches the mediation of design, design discourse, domesticity, national identity and globalization in design and the interplay of design and heritage.

Rebecca Houze is Professor of Art and Design History at Northern Illinois University, USA and General Editor of the Bloomsbury Design Library. Her research examines cultures of collection and display in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She writes about the built environment in Europe and North America with a focus on women designers, international exhibitions, and national parks.

Reviews

"This timely volume brings together parallel strands in design history and heritage studies, arguing cogently for the ways in which each might inform the other. In doing so, it emphasises how heritage - and its futures - are designed, and points towards new directions for research and practice in both fields." - Rodney Harrison, Professor of Heritage Studies, University College London, UK

"The intersections between heritage and design theories and practices have been surprisingly little explored in either heritage studies or design history. This book, edited by Grace Lees-Maffei and Rebecca Houze, goes a long way towards filling that gap. Following an insightful framework-setting chapter by the editors, an expert set of contributors cover a wide range of design/heritage types from monuments and memorials, cultural landscapes and gardens to dress, textiles, timber products and ceramics. The writers come from a variety of disciplinary contexts and engage impressively with case study material deriving from all continents." - William Logan, Professor Emeritus, Deakin University, Australia

"This timely, intellectually engaging and inspirational book focuses on exploring the visual aspects of heritage - from the postcards we send on holiday, to the souvenirs we buy in the museum shop, to the creation of our wedding dress. En route we revisit Old Masters, new technologies, and the built environment. Seen through the prism of design, the richness of material culture presented in this book draws the reader into the engendering and decolonising narratives it embodies. Focusing on a variety of themes - including monuments and materials; landscape, place and visitors experience; craft and industry; textiles and dress; graphics; and digitisation - the book makes a compelling case for the role design plays in the multi-vocality of heritage." - Liliana Janik, Deputy Director, Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, University of Cambridge, UK

"All of the contributions in this volume are extremely informative and instructive, both in content and at the conceptual level, because of their thorough interrogation of the respective historical context. They thus provide an in-depth insight into the history and genesis of design as part of heritage issues. For design and heritage researchers, this volume is essential reading. For others, it provides an exciting introduction to the subject." - Journal of Design History

"All of the contributions in this volume are extremely informative and instructive, both in content and at the conceptual level, because of their thorough interrogation of the respective historical context. They thus provide an in-depth insight into the history and genesis of design as part of heritage issues. For design and heritage researchers, this volume is essential reading. For others, it provides an exciting introduction to the subject." -- Gabriele Mentges, Professor of Anthropology of Textiles and Material Culture, Institute of Art and Material Culture, Technische Universitat Dortmund, Germany. Journal of Design History, https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epac034.

Book Information
ISBN 9780367540487
Author Grace Lees-Maffei
Format Paperback
Page Count 294
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 800g