Heritage, Precarity, and Livelihoods

Precarity has historically been framed in terms of secure wage labour relations and livelihoods. More recently, the condition of precarity has been discussed in relation to climate change. Both contexts conjure the threat of vulnerability, insecurity, and the possibility of loss. Asia is simultaneously one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions of the world as well as one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The combined pressures these phenomena exert could have disproportionately destabilizing effects. Heritage, contentious though it may be, and its conservation – in the form of continuity – can serve as a counterbalance. What might this look like and what are the variables to consider in constructively advocating for heritage conservation and the protection of livelihoods; particularly of the most vulnerable? How do supranational religious identities; rights to land and resources; and issues of sovereignty shape, secure, or destabilize relationships to the built environment? Please join us for our final HCA Roundtable of the semester as Amy Gadsden (Global Initiatives), Justin McDaniel (SAS), and Lynn Meskell (SAS/Weitzman), through their diverse disciplinary lenses, offer insights into how we might consider the practical and ethical dimensions of heritage, precarity, and livelihoods.  

The Heritage Conservation in Asia Roundtable Series is an initiative of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. The purpose of the HCA Roundtables is to draw attention to how heritage and conservation in Asia are central to a raft of broader cultural, governance, urbanistic, and environmental concerns. Issues of national identity, rapid urbanization, sustainable development, international relations, political and religious conflict, civil society, public good, design, public art, and climate change all intersect built heritage and the built environment. As one of the most dynamic regions of the world today, what happens in Asia impacts the globe. The thematically oriented HCA Roundtables are designed to amplify existing Asian heritage-related work at Penn, generate insightful multi-disciplinary discussion, and identify key research questions addressing contemporary contexts, pressing needs, and current heritage conservation practices. Each roundtable features Penn faculty or alumni with diverse expertise and experience whose work in Asia or with Asian diasporic communities offers valuable perspectives and methodological approaches for evolving a global perspective on heritage and a more relevant conservation practice. Come expand your minds and your networks.

This is the fourth in our Heritage Conservation in Asia Roundtable Series.

• 19 January 2023, “Public Space, Identity, and Public Production”
• 16 February 2023, “Asian Urbanism”
• 15 March 2023, “Alumni Roundtable: Built Heritage Conservation in Asia Trends and Practical Needs”
• 30 March 2023, “Heritage, Precarity, and Livelihoods”

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.