Heritage Education as a Tool of Social, Ethnic, and Religious Cohesion in Iraq

Empirical Insights

Bibliographic Data

ID6435600
AuthorsAlesia Koush (0000-0003-1163-0916, University of Reading, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume50
Issue3
Pages199-214
Publication date2024-09-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00934690.2024.2401211
OpenAlexW4402800657
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited39

While the politicization of cultural heritage in Iraq is widely covered by research, little attention is dedicated to how exactly heritage education has been implemented, the knowledge gap this article aims to address. Focusing on the methods employed to educate an average citizen in cultural heritage (how) rather than on the motivation behind them (why), the article unveils novel empirical data drawn from 25 oral history interviews with Iraqi heritage-sector stakeholders demonstrating several important findings. First, a profound gap emerges between cultural awareness levels in pre-1990 and contemporary Iraqi society. Second, the data allows us to identify 12 categories of pre-1990 heritage education strategies, nearly all of which are currently missing or slowly being revived. Third, the respondents disclose a strong reliance on heritage education potential for raising cultural awareness in the sectarianism-torn society. Finally, the article suggests a holistic and inclusive heritage education methodology as a tool of social, ethnic, and religious cohesion in Iraq

Archaeology · Cohesion (chemistry · Community cohesion · Cultural heritage · Empirical research · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Archaeological Research and Protection · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · History · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts

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