Heritage: A Concept at the Crossroads of Biology and Culture. Interdisciplinary workshop organized by Giovanna Targia and Tullio Viola.

Friday, September 19th 2025, 10:00-17:30
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University

In the last thirty years, the legislation on cultural heritage has incorporated a growing number of specifications of the core term "heritage": from "documentary" to "underwater" heritage, from "intangible" to "difficult" heritage, from "threatened", "lost", "robbed heritage" to "heritage at risk". It is far less frequent that the very concept of "heritage" is called into question. Its validity to designate cultural transmission, various forms of tradition, or material remnants of the past appears to be generally accepted. And yet, the notion of "heritage" also implies several ambiguities, controversial aspects, unclear boundaries and changing contours. Focusing on the time-span between the 19th and 20th centuries, the workshop will explore the historical semantics of the concept, especially in its application to both biological and cultural transmission. It will also explore the relevance of the concept's history to contemporary critical discussions.

Programm

10h00 – Tullio Viola (Maastricht): Welcome and Introduction

10h30 – Staffan Müller-Wille (Cambridge): “On Lapland’s Unknown Animals: Linnaeus and Turi between Cultural and Natural Heritage
(Discussant: Geert Somsen, Maastricht)

11h30 – Julie Deschepper (Utrecht): “Challenging Western Narrative: A Reflection on the Soviet Conception of Heritage”
(Discussant: Donna Yates, Maastricht)

12h30-14h00 – Lunch Break

14:00 – Vera Simone Bader (Heidelberg) "Unpacking the Meaning of the 'Vernacular': Between Concept, Context, and Method"
(Discussant: Vivian van Saaze, Maastricht)

15:00 – Gabriella Cianciolo Cosentino (Cologne): "Patina as Heritage: (Bio)diversity and Accessibility on Urban Walls"
(Discussant: Christian Ernsten, Maastricht)

16h00-16h20 – Coffee Break

16h20 – Giovanna Targia (Zurich/Rome): "Heritage and Nachleben: Art History Writing and the Temporalities of ‘Heritage’"
(Discussant: Christoph Rausch, Maastricht)

For info: t.violamaastrichtuniversity.nl