Lecture 2: Values and Sustainability
Time
November 8, 2022
10:00 a.m. (GMT+8)
Zoom Information
Zoom ID: 84408726536
Password: 747812
Host
Dr. Kuanghan Li
Director Assistant, WHITRAP Beijing
Discussants
Prof. Zhang Jianwei
Associate Professor & Deputy Director, School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University
Executive Deputy Director, WHITRAP Beijing
Dr. Yan Haiming
Associate Research Fellow, China Academy of Cultural Heritage
Secretariat Director of ICOMOS China
Abstract
Values are a key locus for sustaining heritage, as they are ascribed and evolve over time, connecting inherited fabric and experiences to contemporary society. Featuring a set of discernment and decision-making practices, the values-centered conservation (VCC) framework helps build a conception of conservation that is equally rooted in an understanding of dynamic contemporary society and in the history and materiality of inherited built environments. As heritage becomes more deeply implicated with broader civil society issues, VCC can continue sustaining heritage by adapting decision-making to new power relationships.
About the Speaker
Randall F. Mason
Professor
Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
Department of City & Regional Planning
University of Pennsylvania
Randall Mason teaches in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and is a professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include preservation history and theory, preservation planning, preservation economics, historic site management, and the history and design of memorials. He served as Program Chair from 2009–2017 and Executive Director of PennPraxis from 2014–2017.
Before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, Mason worked as Senior Project Specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute, researching economic and social issues related to heritage conservation. His previous positions included Assistant Professor and Director of Historic Preservation at the University of Maryland, and adjunct faculty in landscape architecture at RISD. He also has extensive professional consulting experience and co-founded the nonprofit research organization Minerva Partners.
His publications include:
·The Once and Future New York: Historic Preservation and the Modern City (University of Minnesota Press, 2009), winner of SAH’s Antoinette Forrester Downing Award
·Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States (edited with Max Page; Routledge, 2nd edition, 2019)
·Values in Heritage Management (edited with Erica Avrami, Susan Macdonald, and David Myers; Getty Publications, 2019)
Contemporary Heritage Theory Lecture Series
In recent decades, the attributes, functions, and roles of cultural heritage in contemporary society have undergone significant transformation. Heritage has gradually shifted from being a specialized field interpreted by a small group of professionals to becoming a subject of broader public concern.
In addition to focusing on the physical condition of heritage itself, heritage conservation and utilization are increasingly employed by diverse groups as tools to address contemporary social and cultural issues. Whether through physical conservation outcomes or as catalysts for social development, value-centered approaches remain a core methodology in heritage conservation.
This lecture series invites Professor Randall Mason from the University of Pennsylvania to explore the perception of heritage values and their implications for conservation and social development practices, using contemporary American society as a case study. Through historical reflection, conceptual clarification, and practical exploration, the series aims to help students from different professional backgrounds understand the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of heritage studies.
Upcoming Lecture
Lecture 3: Engaged Preservation
November 22, 2022
10:00 a.m. (GMT+8)
This lecture series is supported by the “Peking University Overseas Distinguished Scholars Program” of the International Cooperation Department at Peking University.
