preservation (noun) [preh·zr·vay·shn]—the activity or process of keeping something valued alive, intact, or free from damage or decay
future (noun) [fyoo·chr]—an expectation of advancement or progressive development
Preservation Futures is an initiative of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design Department of Historic Preservation aiming to build an understanding of how the preservation field has changed – and is changing – in light of urgent calls for social and environmental justice and better science. This series of four roundtables, which will begin with Preservation Futures: Society in November, will explore how we want to position the department in relation to future changes.
The professional foundations of the historic preservation field reflect the very different times in which they were laid down. Dramatic upheavals in global society have been met with incremental changes in preservation policy and practice. What kind of preservation field is needed by contemporary societies? What will future societies demand? Facing enormous existential and practical challenges, we wish to reconsider the nature of preservation as a cognate field of study and practice, and its role in intellectually, politically, and practically shaping built environments.
As educators, researchers, and practitioners, we ask: How will and how should historic preservation change? Is re-naming and reimagining of the field as “heritage conservation” called for? How is the value of heritage conservation understood as a public good? How do heritage and conservation relate to broader polities, to markets, to technology, to transforming senses of history and memory and materiality? Our spatial frame of reference for these roundtables is global, though rooted in our own local, regional, and national experiences and practice. Our time frame spans generations, though we are pressed to make decisions about the future now.
During the 2023-2024 academic year we are hosting four roundtables organized around broad contexts and epistemologies that inform historic preservation practice, policy, and theory: society, humanities, design, and the natural sciences. Roundtable participants will represent a wide range of voices from Penn faculty as well as colleagues, scholars, practitioners, and leaders from the field at large. The series will take place in Philadelphia as well as be streamed live, All will be free and open to the public. Each session will result in a public white paper with an interactive web presence where the discussions can continue.
Building on the growing discourse around preservation and heritage futures, the PF Roundtables explore the direction of our department in light of these conversations. We invite discussion and debate that is multi-disciplinary, multi-generational, inclusive, intellectually serious, and practically responsible.
The first event, Preservation Futures: Society is scheduled for Thursday November 16, and will take up the question of historic preservation’s contribution to and engagement with broader societal issues and needs. The final three roundtables are scheduled for the spring 2024 semester:
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