Public Space, Identity, and Public Production

Heritage conservation is premised on the idea of a public good and is often enacted in the public realm. It thus presumes a sense of shared identity and communal space in which a collective is invested. In this roundtable, we investigate the conditions under which communities in Asia and abroad cohere to claim public space as an expression of their collective identity and how heritage and its conservation are leveraged as a medium for public production. Join our lively discussion as Fariha Khan (SAS), Ken Lum (Weitzman), Guobin Yang (Annenberg), and Kecia Fong (Weitzman) explore the theme of public space, identity, and heritage conservation in Asia from diverse scholarly and practitioner perspectives.

Speakers:

Kecia Fong (moderator), Lecturer, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, Editor, Change Over Time

Ken Lum, Marilyn Jordan Taylor Presidential Professor, Chair of Fine Arts

Guobin Yang, Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology, Director, Center on Digital Culture and Society, Deputy Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China

Fariha Khan, Co-Director, Asian American Studies

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 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 offer 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.