Historic Preservation Without Place

Abstract

This issue of Forum Journal focuses on how to preserve cultural heritage in the absence of historic places that represent that heritage. Articles focus on specific communities and the efforts to preserve intangible heritage, as well as more general explorations of the topic. Articles included are about intangible heritage in African American, Latinx, Vietnamese American, immigrant, and coal mining communities throughout America in places as disparate as San Diego; Pennsylvania Coal Country; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Arlington, Virginia. Intangible heritage is also positioned within the context of historic preservation and the legal framework guiding the protection of historic sites. Finally, the notion of intangible heritage, itself, is challenged, with an article asking "If heritage is itself intangible, how can there be an intangible version of it?"