A rampant heritage? Problematising heritage activism through the Casa del Pumarejo social movement

Abstract

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the role of social movements in the production of heritage. However, there has been scant theoretical reflection on the inverse process ―the influence of heritage on the production of civic activism. The objective of this article is to fill this void in the literature about heritage movements, by exploring the strategic benefits and hermeneutical limitations of heritage as a political mobilisation device. The case study addresses the evolution of the movement in defence of Casa del Pumarejo (Seville) over the past twenty years, analysing the perception of heritage during three distinct historical stages: non-heritage, heritagisation and hyper-heritage. This ethnographic longitudinal approach shows the movement’s incorporation of transformative cultural meanings and subversive (or, as the activists say, ‘rampant’) uses of heritage to achieve public recognition, as well as the ambivalences of focusing social struggles on heritage.