Project Diary

Rishika was invited to ‘Global South Maritime Heritage Summit; organised by Odisha Society of the United Kingdom (OSUK) CIC on 14 November 2025 at House of Lords, London. The theme of the event was ‘Ancient Maritime Glory to Sustainable Futures’. 

The event gave us the opportunity to understand how heritage is revived by Indian diaspora communities in the UK with a vision towards Global South collaboration, technological aid and commitment to sustainable economic growth.

November 14, David Harvey attended in a workshop reflecting on a 2023 event about 'History, Heritage, Memory and Beyond'. Among the central discussions in the workshop were: the need for interdisciplinary work with more up-to-date perspectives, given the many world events that have occurred since 2023, the role of politics of the past, temporality, distancing, emotionality, veracity or authenticity in the history and heritage field today.

In relation to our work with Heritage-Border Complexes, asking these questions take us in a slightly different direction, and perhaps allows us to reflect on ‘heritage-border relations’ of a different terrain, such as how we ‘locate’ something called ‘heritage’ in relation to other disciplines, especially regarding some critical reflection on what is meant by terms such as multi-disciplinarity, trans-disciplinarity and inter-disciplinarity, and how they are distinct from each other. Reflecting on HBC terminology, we might be able to put forward suggestions to define these terms.

In terms of issues such as veracity and authenticity, the HBC approach suggests that we can recognise different modalities both in terms of how disciplines relate to each other, and also in terms of their standpoint and function in relation to the construction of narratives through discourse. Heritage narratives have agency, in the way that they contain implicit and explicit appeals for action in the present as a route to possible futures. The workshop has prompted us to investigate the role of ‘truth’ and ‘authenticity’ – and perhaps of ‘activism’ – within these processes of destiny charting.

This Annual Research Reflection and Review Workshop brought together representatives from the three projects that are being funded over the 2025-27 period alongside four new Pilot Projects to a broad interdisciplinary audience. This event provided an opportunity for creative and reflective conversation, both across the research teams as well as with of invited experts, academics, professionals and early career scholars.

David Harvey presented the HBC Annual Report, reflecting on the achievements and outputs from the first 10 months of the project, as well as relating some preliminary research reflections from some of the fieldwork and conceptual analysis that the HBC research team have done. As well as highlighting the Edited Book and Podcast Series on Borderstraddling Heritage, David outlined the conceptual direction that the HBC project is developing, connecting work undertaken within each of the Work Packages in relation to the key central research themes.

The event provided an opportunity to deepen the connection between the different research projects within the KNCU Programme, through extended dialogue and cross-fertilisation of ideas. As well as strengthening the Programme’s visibility and outreach, the Workshop garnered several concrete proposals for dissemination at up-coming conferences and collaboration with publications going forward, especially through the newly founded ‘Heritage and Transnationalism Network’ (HTN) of the Association for Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS).

Start of November, Ali Mozaffari and David Harvey's (eds.) book on border-straddling heritages is released!

The book was first conceptualised at a 2019 seminar at Deakin University, and is now finally launching. It contains 10 chapters from 15 authors, all about the complex world of Border Straddling Heritages. A select 6 of the chapters are further discussed by the co-authors on the Podcast.

In late October, the team handed in our annual progress report on the work that has been done since we were given the research grant. 

In this lecture, Dr Mozaffari explored how civilisational narratives manifest in practice and through that, shape heritage management frameworks in West Asia--encompassing Iran, Turkey and the countries in the South Caucasus. The main argument is that to truly understand heritage management, one must look beyond official rules and decode the unwritten frameworks of political power, territorial ambition, and civilisational rivalry. The presentation draws on Ali Mozaffari and David Harvey's latest paper, to show how framing heritage can serve revanchism, international alliances, and civilisational imaginaries. The discussion of examples demonstrates how heritage and various forms of social, political, and geopolitical borders are co-produced and how no framework is truly neutral.

The Białowieża Forest was the first Natural World Heritage Site to be inscribed in Europe (1979) and in many ways is a stereotypical example of an iconic ‘Natural World Heritage Site’. The original WHS was inscribed by the Polish National Committee, and in 1992 was extended into Belarus to form an early Transnational World Heritage Site, as a ‘Contiguous Transboundary Site’. This was extended again in 2014, and now encompasses nearly 150,000 hectares; roughly 35% in Poland and 65% in Belarus.

David Harvey was shown around the forrest, spoke with Renata Sliwa from the Polish UNESCO commission (Science Education) about the work of the site preservation team, and caught up with Ph.D. student and collaborator on the HBC project Julia Ciołek who is currently working at the site. 

On September 24th, David Harvey and intern Miriam went to visit the Workers' Museum to talk to the team working in charge of the Workers' Assembly Halls transnational serial UNESCO world heritage site nomination. Workers' Assembly Halls are the physical spaces built by wage-workers for the purpose of gathering to fight for their rights. The nomination is currently on the tentative list, and will be  nominated for 2027. 

The nomination team facilitated a very insightful chat about the specifics of the transnational WHS nomination, how it differs from the 'national' nomination, and why they chose to make this specific nomination transnational. 

A big part of the conversation revolved around the inherent transnationality of the Workers' Assembly Halls nomination - they stressed that the site was 'born transnational'. 

The Border Straddling Heritages podcast  with Ali Mozaffari and David Harvey is inspired by their upcoming book, Border-Straddling Heritages: Containment, Contestation & Appreciation of Shared Pasts. It dives into six of the book's chapters through talks with the co-authors as well as a bonus episode with Virginie Rey. 

Week 38, Rishika visited Aarhus once more to host a guest lecture on Indian Diaspora for the first semester SHM students.  

Rishika’s lecture ‘Dynamics and Politics of Diaspora Heritage’ focused on the contradictory nature of nationalist and transnationalist heritage-making projects of the diaspora. She introduced the multivariate mapping of diaspora heritage actors and indicators to the students and proposed to look at the seemingly oppositional forces, functions and tools of diaspora heritage practices through the lens of the contact zone. 

Overall the visit to Aarhus University, School of Archaeology and  Heritage Studies at Moesgaard, a beautiful leafy quaint campus, has proved to be very productive. Through a series of focused meetings with the PI-I, David C. Harvey and with project interns Miriam and Siqing, she made progress in outlining future data collection and analytical focus point of the project. Finally, meeting MCH (Material Culture and Heritage) seminar colleagues, especially Dr Helle Jørgensen and her work on postcolonial heritage making in the erstwhile French territory in India through commemorative nation-building practices, provided a fertile ground for intellectual exchange.

On June 19th, researchers from all over the world joined the Cross-fields dialogues conference arranged by Ali Mozaffari, David C. Harvey and Jeremy Smith. Archaeologists, Sociologists, Anthropologists, Geographers and scholars of various Global Studies came together to share their projects all surrounding heritage, civilisations, identity, and borders. 

In May, the HTN had their first official meeting, establishing the network under ACHS to work with transnational heritage issues – an initiative which has long been needed in the heritage field. The inaugural meeting launched the network with seventeen scholars present to workshop the areas of concern. 

The David Collection is a Copenhagen based museum of art. Ali's visit centered specifically around interpreting the Islamic Art exhibition, which is the largest collection in the David Collection. Ali conducted an interview with museum director Joachim Meyer about how “Islamic art” is portrayed and understood by the museum and its visitors. 

During the period of April–June, Ali stayed in Aarhus for his AIAS Fellowship (Aarhus Institute of Advances Studies). While staying at AIAS, Ali worked with David Harvey to further develop the Heritage-Border Complexes project. This entailed both further enhancing the academic apprehension on this critical field, and shaping the way in which UNESCO and others address practical issues of ‘border heritage’ and ‘heritage borders’. 

As well as delivering a seminar paper at the AIAS Research Seminar Series, AIAS provided the venue for the launch of the Heritage and Transnationalism Network (May 2025). During his Fellowship, Ali carried out fieldwork at the David Collection in Copenhagen and worked with David to finish off a manuscript on 'modalities of heritage'. Along with David and Jeremy Smith (Federation University, Australia), we were also able to develop a book proposal and host an associated Conference on the theme of 'heritage and civilisational narratives'.

The team stayed in Sandbjerg in Denmark for three days, where they held an internal workshop to review each of their work-in-progress papers. During the trip, they also recruited the new interns for the fall 2025 semester. 

For the remainder of the stay, they went on two trips to Southern Danish sites. The first was to the Moravian Settlement in Christiansfeld. The team went to experience the management of the site in the wake of their recent nomination as a transnational listing, now joined by three other Moravian settlements worldwide. 

The second trip went to Knivsbjerg, and the research team were keen to visit this site of ‘in-between-ness’ and paradox. The 40m tall statue of Bismarck was moved as a preliminary measure prior to the vote on whether Northern Slesvig should be Danish or German, and the surrounding camping grounds and festival fields have a strangely banal feel to them. Off to one side, however, the 'Gedenkstätte' (memorial) to Fallen Soldiers from the German-speaking population who fought in the Second World War is still marked by a large, inscribed stone, reading “Ehrenhain”: the “Grove of Honour”, even while several names of individuals who were found to have carried out war crimes have been scrubbed out.

In February, David Harvey visited Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall in the UK as part of the work on Transnational World Heritage Sites. Both walls are part of the transnational ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ UNESCO listing (2005). The trip was an attempt to gain an understanding of how walls – which are by their nature boundary markers and defense systems– can simultaneously serve as vessels for transnational connections. During the trip, David was able to explore this paradox of borders as something that can bring nations together, and assess whether or not this is actually the case for these transnational sites. 

Rishika conducted fieldwork in the 3 day Overseas Indian Day 2025 (18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) organised by Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India in Bhuvaneshwar, Odissa from 8-10 January 2025.

PBD is a flagship event that connects the Indian diaspora with the Government of India to acknowledge their contributions to the nation's development. The theme for the 2025 convention was "Diaspora's Contribution to a Viksit Bharat" (Developed India).

In January, the official news came from the KNCU, that we had received the three-year research grant to develop a full-fledged HBC project, making a wonderful start to the new year!

In November, the research team went to visit the Korea to attend the Pilot Research Review Conference where the pilot project report and presentations were reviewed for the chance to get a three-year research grant. The conference was attended by incredibly talented scholars from around the world who all gave fascinating talks on their projects. 

The team also got the chance to visit the  Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This trip stirred up a less formal discussion about the trip and the reflections it had sparked for each of the team members; these were reflections on the gravity of the DMZ as it is perceived by the Korean public and the heritage professionals in the surrounding area. Some of the themes were commercialisation, commodification and collective memory. 

We submitted the 240 page Report to the KNCU.

Rishika’s visit to Aarhus coincided with an intensive week of Pilot Project work. It was great to be able to work face-to-face on WP2 and WP3, with David and Rishika spending quality project time with the Aarhus-based student interns; Annie Gibson; Dekav Nilla and Julia Ciolek – with Jay Mateo (student intern) and Ali, making daily contributions through regular Zoom meetings.

David went to Slesvig to visit the Danish/German border site, Dannevirke. The visit served as fieldwork for WP2. The visit provided valuable information about the way that the borderland is portrayed, and what “transnational” means for the site and its management. The trip gave valuable insight into the Danish/German heritage-border complex, how people perceive it and how it is managed, which will benefit the project going forward.

David, Ali and Rishika presented our ‘mid-term’ findings and reflections to the Korean National Committee of UNESCO (KNCU), together with the wider Unveiling Shared Pasts team.

It was lovely to meet up with everyone involved in the research programme for the first time. It was fascinating to hear about the developing research that the other three research teams were working on and exchange ideas and experiences. In particular, it was great to be able to have such positive collaborative conversations about our emerging research and get some initial feedback.

David Harvey and Ali Mozaffari were presenting research papers at the ACHS Conference. This provided the opportunity to launch the Heritage and Transnationalism Network (HTN) of the ACHS.

With a mission closely allied to the exploration of Heritage-Border Complexes, the HTN Network seeks to expand our understanding of heritage (understood in both tangible and intangible forms) as it intersects with international relations, geography, geopolitics, public diplomacy, statecraft, diaspora studies, and borders, borderlands, and cross-roads studies.

Dr Rishika Mukhopadhyay hosted the first Research Workshop for the Pilot Project: Heritage Border Complexes and the Future of Eurasia. Meeting at the Department of Geography at the University of Southampton, Rishika, David and Ali met to review the project plans and set out an agenda and timetable for research.

Over the two days, we refined the objectives and processes for each of the Work Packages and set out a plan for how to proceed. The lead team met up with Adchaya Appathurai, the Student Intern based at Southampton, who was working with Rishika on WP3.