Introduction: On Stuart Hall and the imagining of heritage

Abstract

An examination of the intellectual and practical impact of Stuart Hall’s ideas on heritage. The Introduction reflects on the ‘heritage’ of Hall’s essay as it was taken up or neglected in academic, policy and professional discourses after its presentation in 1999, within the theoretical fields of both cultural studies and heritage studies. This chapter scrutinises the concept of heritage as it has evolved since those days; its foundational role in identity, culture and citizenship, and, in particular, its relation to the concepts of ‘equality’, ‘diversity’ and ‘race’ within today’s policy and practices in the UK’s culture and heritage sectors.