This collection of newly published essays examines our relationship to physical objects that invoke, commemorate, and honor the past. The recent destruction of cultural heritage in war and controversies over Civil War monuments in the US have foregrounded the importance of artifacts that embody history. The book invites us to ask: How do memorials convey their meanings? What is our responsibility for the preservation or reconstruction of historically significant structures? How should we respond when the public display of a monument divides a community? This anthology includes coverage of the destruction of Palmyra and the Bamiyan Buddhas, the loss of cultural heritage through war and natural disasters, the explosive controversies surrounding Confederate-era monuments, and the decay of industry in the U.S. Rust Belt. The authors consider issues of preservation and reconstruction, the nature of ruins, the aesthetic and ethical values of memorials, and the relationship of cultural memory to material artifacts that remain from the past. Written by a leading group of philosophers, art historians, and archeologists, the 23 chapters cover monuments and memorials from Dubai to Detroit, from the instant destruction of Hiroshima to the gradual sinking of Venice.

The world responded with horror to ISIS's campaign of destruction of cultural heritage across the Middle East, including with calls for an international response to prevent such damage. At the same time, newspapers and screens were filled with images of human destruction, devastated cities,and thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict. This juxtaposition caused a backlash against those voicing their concerns about the destruction of ancient ruins, popularly framed as dispute about 'stone versus lives'. In the face of so much human suffering, it can seem inappropriate to worry aboutanything but the urgent, basic needs of people.Heritage and War addresses this issue within the context of a wider debate, amidst a range of moral questions. Eleven original essays investigate a variety of philosophical and moral questions arising from the phenomenon of heritage destruction in war, such how we ought to respond to heritage thatis damaged in war, the nature of the harm caused by such damage, and the morally appropriate treatment of sites of war and conflict that have themselves become heritage sites. Such issues are philosophically rich, and yet they have been largely neglected by academic philosophers. This book makes asubstantial contribution to developing this new philosophical territory and identifying the role that philosophers have to play in developing our understanding of and responses to these important issues.

"Art has not always had the same salience in philosophical discussions of ethics that many other elements of our lives have. There are well-defined areas of "applied ethics" corresponding to nature, business, health care, war, punishment, animals, and more, but there is no recognized research program in "applied ethics of the arts" or "art ethics." Art often seems to belong to its own sphere of value, separate from morality. The first questions we ask about art are usually not about its moral rightness or virtue, but about its beauty or originality. However, it is impossible to do any serious thinking about the arts without engaging in ethical questions"--

This companion investigates the philosophical and theoretical foundations determining the conditions of possibility and the limits that make the conservation, readaptation, and transformation of past buildings legitimate operations. As increasing ecological and economic challenges question opportunities for new construction, the process of restoring, transforming, and readapting buildings for new or continued use is becoming an essential part of architectural practice. At the same time, the role of building conservation is changing from mere material preservation to being part of a broader strategy for social regeneration, eco-awareness, and inclusive urban planning. Chapters of this volume explore the complex set of considerations that inform decisions to merely preserve, accurately restore or variously reuse a building. They also look at the broader philosophical concerns such as ethical and aesthetic values, combined with ideas of heritage, history, and collective identity. Case studies on reconstruction after war, gentrification, the restoration of ancient edifices, reconstruction following the effects of climate change, and the use of technology solutions among many others, make this a timely and urgent volume. Adopting a broad transcultural perspective with contributions from five continents, the volume combines theoretical approaches with more practical, case study-based investigations and will be of great interest to upper-level students and academics working in the fields of architecture, conservation, urban design, aesthetics, and heritage management.

Though we live in a time when memory seems to be losing its hold on communities, memory remains central to personal, communal, and national identities. And although popular and public discourses from speeches to films invite a shared sense of the past, official sites of memory such as memorials, museums, and battlefields embody unique rhetorical principles. Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials is a sustained and rigorous consideration of the intersections of memory, place, and rhetoric. From the mnemonic systems inscribed upon ancient architecture to the roadside acci

This book explores how societies deal with the effects of war on the historic environment. Written by historians, archaeologists, and conservation professionals, it offers a dramatic perspective on the war in Ukraine. It reveals the truth behind the Kremlin’s ‘just war’ narrative and touches on the complex relationship between war, society and the historic environment with examples of heritage conservation, archaeology and political expediency from Europe to Namibia. Prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the first section ‘Frontline Ukraine’ examines the manipulation of history, the use of propaganda, and the decolonisation of Russian memorials in former Soviet states. It highlights how illegal archaeological excavations, looting and the removal of museum collections beginning from seizure of Crimea in 2014 until the present day have contributed to an increasingly implausible Russian narrative which attempts to represent an imperial land grab as a ‘just war’. In the second section ‘Aspects of War’, the authors provide a wider perspective, with chapters on the influence of film, the effect of war on conservation, forensic archaeology, the reconstruction of damaged or destroyed museums as well as the relationship between America and the Hague Convention. Topical and lucid, this volume will be beneficial to students and researchers of history, archaeology, politics and international relations. The chapters in this book were originally published in The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice and are accompanied by an updated introduction and a new conclusion.

In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As nodes of public dialogue, they serve as platforms for dissenting views about the future and past of Berlin. In this book, Daniela Sandler introduces the concept of counterpreservation as a way to understand this intentional appropriation of decrepitude. The embrace of decay is a sign of Berlin's iconoclastic rebelliousness, but it has also been incorporated into the mainstream economy of tourism and development as part of the city's countercultural cachet. Sandler presents the possibilities and shortcomings of counterpreservation as a dynamic force in Berlin and as a potential concept for other cities. Counterpreservation is part of Berlin's fabric: in the city's famed Hausprojekte (living projects) such as the Køpi, Tuntenhaus, and KA 86; in cultural centers such as the Haus Schwarzenberg, the Schokoladen, and the legendary, now defunct Tacheles; in memorials and museums; and even in commerce and residences. The appropriation of ruins is a way of carving out affordable spaces for housing, work, and cultural activities. It is also a visual statement against gentrification, and a complex representation of history, with the marks of different periods—the nineteenth century, World War II, postwar division, unification—on display for all to see. Counterpreservation exemplifies an everyday urbanism in which citizens shape private and public spaces with their own hands, but it also influences more formal designs, such as the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, and Daniel Libeskind's unbuilt redevelopment proposal for a site peppered with ruins of Nazi barracks. By featuring these examples, Sandler questions conventional notions of architectural authorship and points toward the value of participatory environments.