My research interests lie mainly in the critical appraisal of the commodification of cultural heritage resources, the rendering of places into destinations and, more broadly, the political and cultural discourses underpinning commerce. This is expressed principally in my publications examining the politics of 'Western' representation of Islamic culture and destinations, in which I adopt a Foucauldian/post-Saidian approach with notable contributions in the journals Theory, Culture & Society and Environment and Planning A. I am involved in an ongoing project examining the commercialisation of Ottoman cultural heritage in SE Europe and am an external partner in SOAS-University of London's interdisciplinary Centre for Ottoman Studies. My ongoing activity in broader contexts includes exploring the culturally contingent notion of 'authenticity' in heritage consumption and the commercialisation of 'real and imagined pasts' in ancestral tourism.
Sessions in which Derek Bryce participates
Thursday 1 September, 2022
Sessions in which Derek Bryce attends
Tuesday 30 August, 2022
Efforts to preserve industrial heritage occurs in a socio-economic and political context. But what is being preserved and for whom? And, relatedly, what is the relationship between industrial heritage sites and the deindustrialized working-class communities that often adjoin them? The keynote will consider the ways that the preservation of Montreal’s Lachine Canal, Canada’s premier industrial heritage site, has enabled gentrification processes that have forc...