Identities

The validation and strengthening of identity – especially collective identities – are  often included among the reasons for using and preserving cultural heritage. Identities can motivate and define what should be regarded as heritage, and cultural heritage can be created to construct and legitimize new identities.

 

 

The research projects on cultural heritage and identity that have been funded by The Swedish Research Council and The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation between 2002 and 2011 have dealt with conflicts and early uses of land in northern Norrland’s (the northernmost part of Sweden) coastal area, Buddhism as a Swedish cultural heritage, views on how gender and ethnicity affect national identity, and reuses of technology from the 19th century
within the cultural subgroup ‘steampunk’.

Current research at universities and university colleges deals with identity and cultural heritage in several ways: individual vs. collective identity, personal vs. institutional identity. The projects can be divided into the following overall categories:

  • How representation can be used and what collective identity means: Needs, functions and intentions of/with collective identities.
  • Examples of collective identities; local identities in rural areas (e.g., Knäred) and in movies, regional identification and identity borders in archaeology (e.g. Öresund). Construction of  self-conciousness in northern Sweden (Tornedalen) in literature.
  • Spiritual identity, e.g. religious rites in Sweden and how possible cooperation is  decided with religion in Malaysia.
  • Ethnic identity and its maintenance, changes and renewal with migration, integration and meetings.
  • Etnographic pictures.
  • Urban identity.
  • The construction and deconstruction of national identities.
  • Transnational identities (e.g., Nordic and Baltic identities).
  • The construction of European identity(ies).
 To read the full list of research projects in the identities category - click here!