What are Heritage Studies?
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Heritage is a hot topic. It has become a major focus of interest nationally and internationally and draws on such fields as archaeology, ethnology, and history. Issues of fundamental importance in community organization and structure that link past to present include in- and out-migrations of distinct ethnic groups; co-mingling and merging of ethnic groups resulting in new social formations; and social, economic, and political inequalities. In short, we view the concept of “community” not as a bounded, self-contained entity but as a mosaic of interacting and continually evolving social and ethnic formations. Snapshots of the mosaic at different points in time provide a framework for investigating historical changes in the community. This diachronic perspective allows an examination of the larger regional, and perhaps global, context that figures strongly in the changing complexion of a community.
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