Berlin is a multi-cultural city with a diverse
cultural life and heritage. The course will present critical heritage studies
connected to Asia. Starting with the fascination of collectors and travelers to
Asia during the colonial period, collections and material culture has lend
contemporary relevance to the arts, history and politics. During the excursions
to museums and cultural institutions in Berlin we want to critically engage in the
discourses on what Asian heritage is and how it should be studied
and managed. This allows an integration of heritage and museum studies. The course approaches a broad
spectrum from crafts, intangible heritage and memorialization to rights
policies and property issues. Monuments, religious sites or street names reflect Berlin’s colonial
legacies and minority histories of different communities from Asia.
