Fall 2010
Nezar Al-Sayyad, Professor of Architecture, City Planning, Urban Design and Urban History at the University of California at Berkeley, presented his lecture, Consuming Heritage and the End of Tradition, in Plym Auditorium on October 4, 2010. Sponsored by CHAMP (Collaborative for Cultural Heritage and Museum Practices) and supported by a variety of other departments including the Department of Landscape Architecture, Al-Sayyad’s lecture encompassed the interests of several departments as he discussed society's contemporary "fascination with endings," and the significance of that for historic preservation and urban design. Because urban design shapes the form and culture of cities, Al-Sayyed explained, it also contributes to forms of urban and even national identity.
The commodification of cultural heritage was another central theme in Al-Sayyad’s lecture as he critiqued a selection of planned and designed tourist spaces in America. He presented Disneyland as a “dream landscape,” a place of entertainment that replicates icons of American culture. Colonial Williamsburg represents a category where history is used as a “prop for commercialism”: people want to go there and enjoy learning about history, he argued, not to be confronted with real historical issues such as “slavery and its horrors.” Rather, in contemporary heritage practices and urban design, he said, the world presents a messier and more authentic version of historyas a hybrid of multiple cultures and points in time.
Overall, Al-Sayyad’s lecture offered a wide-ranging discussion of heritage issues that will increasingly confront both designers and historians as globalization increases. In his closing statements, Al-Sayyad reminded his audience that “heritage and tradition will always be used toward political ends.” As places and their meanings are continually contested,designers and urban designers are forced to constantly reevaluate what is authentic and/or what is worth preserving.
Al-Sayyad is the Director and President of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE) and Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. His lecture was based on his recent book, The End of Tradition? as well as material for an upcoming, as yet untitled, book.
The commodification of cultural heritage was another central theme in Al-Sayyad’s lecture as he critiqued a selection of planned and designed tourist spaces in America. He presented Disneyland as a “dream landscape,” a place of entertainment that replicates icons of American culture. Colonial Williamsburg represents a category where history is used as a “prop for commercialism”: people want to go there and enjoy learning about history, he argued, not to be confronted with real historical issues such as “slavery and its horrors.” Rather, in contemporary heritage practices and urban design, he said, the world presents a messier and more authentic version of historyas a hybrid of multiple cultures and points in time.
Overall, Al-Sayyad’s lecture offered a wide-ranging discussion of heritage issues that will increasingly confront both designers and historians as globalization increases. In his closing statements, Al-Sayyad reminded his audience that “heritage and tradition will always be used toward political ends.” As places and their meanings are continually contested,designers and urban designers are forced to constantly reevaluate what is authentic and/or what is worth preserving.
Al-Sayyad is the Director and President of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE) and Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. His lecture was based on his recent book, The End of Tradition? as well as material for an upcoming, as yet untitled, book.
Nezar Al-Sayyad at Illinois