Hagtvedt Vik, Hanne --- "History, memory and memorialization processes – Reports 2013–2014 (A/68/296, 2013 and A/HRC/25/49, 2014)" [2017] ELECD 1432; in Belder, Lucky; Porsdam, Helle (eds), "Negotiating Cultural Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 133

Book Title: Negotiating Cultural Rights

Editor(s): Belder, Lucky; Porsdam, Helle

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781786435415

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: History, memory and memorialization processes – Reports 2013–2014 (A/68/296, 2013 and A/HRC/25/49, 2014)

Author(s): Hagtvedt Vik, Hanne

Number of pages: 28

Abstract/Description:

Travelling the world in her capacity as United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed frequently witnessed intense disagreement over events of the past. Although history is one of the few mandatory curriculum subjects in education systems the world over, Shaheed’s work nevertheless convinced her that, in most societies, people cannot access historical narratives and cultural heritage in a way that fosters critical thinking and the understanding of alternative realities and perspectives. Historical research and its presentation to a popular audience are ‘about identity, about who we are and where we came from’, Richard J Evans argues. We are living through a ‘memory boom’: David Lowenthal has noted that the past, ‘once certified by experts and reliant on written texts, has become a fragmented, contested history forged by us all’. The power of historical narratives to shape identities, arouse emotions and motivate and legitimate political action are a source of both inspiration and worry for states, groups and individuals and therefore also for international organizations like the UN. How should the past be researched, taught and remembered? The past is a battlefield. George Orwell famously posited that ‘who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’. Interpretations and distortions of history are potent political tools; states and non-state actors alike try to impose particular versions on their own and other populations.