95701 - Memory and Heritage in an Intercultural Perspective

Learning outcomes

Discrepancy between narratives of memory produced and negotiated by institutional and political discourses and that of memory as an intersubjective practice allows us to observe the power structures included in the discourses of Cultural Heritage policies and management practices. By the end of the course, the student: is expected to gain a better understanding of the cultural processes built from the social production of knowledge and the relation between memory and heritage, being capable of understanding how Cultural Heritage is a cultural process sustained by cultural practices concerned with the craft and the mediation of the collective memory narratives as well as the social and cultural values supporting, and how Cultural Heritage appears only when something is narrated, defined and / or treated as heritage in favorable socio-cultural contexts.

Course contents

The course explores the relationship between memory, heritage, identity and cultural mediation through a progressive learning path: personal memory - collective memory - heritage - conflict - mediation. It starts from everyday experiences of memory and gradually moves towards collective memory, heritage-making processes, dissonant heritage, colonial legacies, contested monuments, museum collections, restitution debates and intercultural mediation. No previous knowledge of memory studies, heritage studies or museum studies is required. The course is designed for students from different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain the main concepts in memory and heritage studies.

The course is organised into five thematic modules, preceded by an introductory orientation session.

Module 0 - Course orientation

Presentation of the course structure, learning activities, assessment methods, reading materials and use of the Virtuale platform.

Module 1 - How do personal memories acquire meaning?

Personal and autobiographical memory; memory and identity; remembering and forgetting; objects, images, places and stories as carriers of memory; the transition from personal memory to shared meaning.

Activity: Memory Object Workshop.

Module 2 - When does memory become collective?

Collective memory; communicative and cultural memory; memory communities; memory, history and narrative; identity, belonging and exclusion.

Activities: Snowballing discussion and collaborative concept mapping.

Module 3 - How does memory become heritage?

Heritage as a cultural process; tangible and intangible heritage; heritage-making; selection, preservation, transmission and interpretation; museums, archives, monuments, rituals and public spaces; inclusion and exclusion in heritage processes.

Activities: World Cafe and exercise From Memory to Heritage.

Module 4 - What happens when different memories compete?

Dissonant heritage; difficult heritage; colonial collections; contested monuments; restitution debates; public memory controversies; power, silence and representation.

Activity: Structured Academic Controversy on a dissonant heritage case.

Module 5 - How are conflicting memories represented, translated and negotiated in public cultural spaces?

Information and cultural mediation; public uses of memory; museums, archives and monuments as mediating devices; narrative conflict and symbolic disputes; decolonial critique of cultural memory; restitution, recontextualisation and public controversy; mediation between institutional narratives and marginalised memories.

Final activity: Role-Playing Game - Mediating a Public Memory Conflict. The course concludes with an assessment simulation in the form of a Role-Playing Game devoted to the mediation of a public memory conflict.

Readings/Bibliography

The course uses a modular reading dossier made up of selected English-language texts, articles, institutional documents and online resources. Students are not expected to read full books unless specifically indicated. Required excerpts and additional materials will be made available through the Virtuale platform.

Required readings for attending and non-attending studentsModule 1 - Personal memory and memory traces

• UNESCO, Memory of the World Programme - General Guidelines, selected sections.
• Helen J. Chatterjee and Leonie Hannan, eds., Object-Based Learning: Exploring Museums and Collections in Education, selected sections.

  Module 2 - Collective, communicative and cultural memory

• Jan Assmann, "Communicative and Cultural Memory", selected sections.
• James V. Wertsch, Henry L. Roediger III and Christopher L. Zerr, "Collective Memory: Conceptual Foundations and Group Formation", selected sections.

  Module 3 - Heritage-making

• UNESCO, Basic Texts of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, selected sections.
• ICOM, Museum Definition, selected sections.
• Laurajane Smith, Uses of Heritage, selected excerpts/introductory materials.

  Module 4 - Dissonant heritage and conflict

• Patrizia Battilani, Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Krzysztof Kowalski and Teresa Nicolosi, eds., Dissonant Heritage: Concepts, Critiques, Cases, selected chapters.
• Selected open-access articles or case materials on contested monuments, colonial collections, restitution debates or public memory controversies.

  Module 5 - Mediation, decolonisation and restitution

• Felwine Sarr and Benedicte Savoy, The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Toward a New Relational Ethics, selected sections.
• Federica Bacci, "Reconceptualizing Museum Decolonization: A Proposal for the Repatriation of Agency", selected sections.
• ICOM and UNESCO materials on participation, community engagement and heritage responsibility.

Operational readings assigned to groups

Some readings will not necessarily be required in full for all students. They will be used for group work, guided discussions, case analysis and preparation for the final RPG. Additional case-study dossiers will be provided for class activities and for the final role-playing simulation.

Additional bibliography for non-attending students

Non-attending students prepare the required reading dossier listed above and the additional case-study materials made available on Virtuale. They must also submit an individual case-analysis paper before the exam, as specified below. Any further compulsory readings for non-attending students will be indicated on Virtuale.

Recommended further readings

Further recommended readings will be indicated on Virtuale during the course. They may concern memory studies, heritage studies, museum studies, decolonial approaches to cultural memory, restitution debates, public history and intercultural mediation.

Teaching methods

The course adopts a participatory and student-centred learning approach. Short lectures will introduce key concepts and will be combined with guided discussions, case analysis, cooperative exercises, peer learning, collaborative concept mapping and simulations.

The first meeting will be devoted to the presentation of the course, the activities, assessment criteria and use of materials on Virtuale. The following content sessions will be built around progressive applied activities.

Each operational meeting will normally include:

• a brief review of the previous session;
• an introduction to key concepts;
• an individual or group activity;
• collective feedback and discussion;
• a link with the assessment portfolio.

The activities are designed to support students from different academic and cultural backgrounds and to allow attending students to build their assessment progressively during the course.

Assessment methods

Attending students

For attending students, assessment is based on continuous coursework, in-class activities and a final Role-Playing Simulation: Mediating a Public Memory Conflict. Students who complete the attending-student pathway and obtain a mark of at least 18/30 may register the grade without taking an additional oral examination, by formally enrolling in the exam session.

Students are considered attending if they actively participate in at least 10 of the 14 content sessions and submit the required activities.

Activity

Weight

Active participation, preparation for discussion and contribution to in-class activities

3/30

Memory Object Workshop: individual reflection and group discussion

5/30

Collective Memory Activity: Snowballing discussion and collaborative concept map

5/30

From Memory to Heritage Exercise: object/place/practice biography

5/30

Structured Academic Controversy on a dissonant heritage case

6/30

Final RPG "Mediating a Public Memory Conflict" and individual debriefing

6/30

Total

30/30

Synthetic description of assessment activitiesActive participation, preparation for discussion and contribution to in-class activities - 3/30

This component assesses students regular engagement with the course, preparation of assigned readings or materials, participation in discussions, contribution to group work, and ability to listen to and respond to different perspectives. Particular attention will be given to the student progressive engagement with the course path: personal memory - collective memory - heritage - conflict - mediation.

Memory Object Workshop: individual reflection and group discussion - 5/30

Students work on an object, image, place, story, song, family memory, public space or digital artefact connected to memory. They reflect on what kind of memory the chosen trace carries, for whom it is meaningful, how its meaning can be communicated to others, what may be misunderstood across cultural contexts and how a personal memory may begin to acquire shared meaning.

Collective Memory Activity: Snowballing discussion and collaborative concept map - 5/30

Students move from individual reflection to pairs, small groups and plenary discussion, addressing questions such as whether memory can belong to a group, how memory differs from history, who decides what a community remembers and how collective memory may exclude some voices. Students then contribute to a collaborative concept map connecting personal memory, collective memory, communicative memory, cultural memory, history, identity, narration, forgetting and transmission.

From Memory to Heritage Exercise: object/place/practice biography - 5/30

Students reconstruct the possible biography of an object, place, practice, story, image, tradition or memorial trace, following its transformation from ordinary use or personal memory to shared meaning, public recognition, heritage status, institutional representation and possible conflict, reinterpretation or exclusion.

Structured Academic Controversy on a dissonant heritage case - 6/30

Students work on a prepared case involving dissonant or contested heritage, such as a colonial collection, a disputed monument, a restitution claim, a contested museum display or a public memory controversy. They are assigned different positions, argue from one perspective, listen to the opposing position, switch perspectives and work towards a possible mediation proposal.

Final RPG "Mediating a Public Memory Conflict" and individual debriefing - 6/30

The final assessment activity is a role-playing simulation centred on a public memory conflict. Each student is assigned a role representing one of the actors involved, such as a museum or cultural institution, a local authority, a community representative, an activist group, a journalist, a researcher, an educator or a cultural mediator. After the RPG, students submit a short individual debriefing reflecting on their role, the conflict, the negotiation process and the concepts used.

Assessment criteria for attending students

Students will be assessed on:

• understanding of the fundamental concepts of the course;
• ability to connect theories, cultural practices and contemporary cases;
• ability to analyse memory and heritage conflicts critically;
• appropriate use of disciplinary vocabulary;
• quality of argumentation;
• ability to work in groups while maintaining individual responsibility;
• capacity for intercultural dialogue and critical self-reflection in the final debriefing.

  The grade scale will be applied as follows:

• 18-19: essential and mostly descriptive knowledge of the topics; limited connections; application to cases possible only with guidance.
• 20-24: correct knowledge of the main concepts; ability to apply them to simple cases; orderly argumentation, though not always autonomous.
• 25-29: good command of the programme; autonomous connections between concepts, materials and cases; critical analysis and appropriate use of terminology.
• 30-30L: broad and integrated command of the topics; ability to connect memory, heritage, representation, conflict and mediation; critical autonomy, originality of argumentation and strong capacity for self-reflection.

Use of artificial intelligence in assessed activities

For assessed activities carried out outside the classroom, limited, declared and non-substantial use of AI is permitted, for example for language support, preliminary summarisation of non-assessed materials, reorganisation of notes or self-assessment. Students may not present AI-generated text as their own work.

When AI is used in relation to an assessed activity, students must declare its use where relevant. During the final RPG, the use of AI is not permitted unless otherwise indicated by the teacher.

Non-attending students

Non-attending students prepare the exam through the conceptual materials available on Virtuale, the required reading dossier and the additional case-study materials indicated for them. They must also submit, at least 7 days before the exam date, an individual case-analysis paper of approximately 6,000-8,000 characters. Detailed instructions for the individual paper will be available on Virtuale.

The assessment for non-attending students consists of an individual case-analysis paper worth 9/30 and an oral examination worth 21/30. The oral examination will discuss the case-analysis paper, the common readings and the concepts of the course. The exam is passed with a minimum mark of 18/30.

Assessment component

Weight

Individual case-analysis paper on a memory or heritage conflict

9/30

Oral examination on the bibliography and course concepts

21/30

Total

30/30

Oral examination for non-attending students

The oral examination lasts approximately 20-25 minutes and is organised in three parts:

1. Discussion of the case-analysis paper. The student briefly presents the case and discusses its main issues.
2. Questions on the common materials. The teacher verifies knowledge of the fundamental concepts: personal memory, collective memory, communicative memory, cultural memory, heritage-making, dissonant heritage, difficult heritage, representation, restitution, recontextualisation and mediation.
3. Discussion of the additional case-study materials. The student must show the ability to connect the materials to the general themes of the course and to the case analysed in the paper.

During the oral examination, the use of books, notes, digital devices or AI tools is not permitted, except in previously agreed accessibility arrangements.

Teaching tools

Teaching materials will be made available through the Virtuale platform. Virtuale will include slides, reading excerpts, conceptual sheets, case-study dossiers, activity instructions, role descriptions for the final simulation, assessment criteria and optional materials for further study.

Generative AI may be used as a limited support tool for individual study, for example to clarify concepts, summarise non-assessed materials or prepare questions for discussion. It may not replace independent reading, critical analysis or assessed work. Any use of AI in assessed activities must be declared where relevant.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders or temporary or permanent conditions affecting participation or assessment are invited to contact the University office in good time. Any proposed adaptations must be discussed with and approved by the teacher in relation to the learning outcomes of the course.

Information for students is available through the University of Bologna service for students with disabilities and specific learning disorders:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it/per-studenti

Office hours

See the website of Giulia Crippa