The Politics of Cultural Heritage An Urban Approach

Abstract

The AA. address the performance and display of cultural heritage in context of late modern urban culture. Contemporary metropolises constitute core settings for the political and symbolic representation of cultural diversity and multiculturalism. One of the most important forms of such representation is the ethnic or multi-ethnic festival. The Carnival of Cultures in Berlin is analysed as an example and compared to the much more prominent Notting Hill Carnival. The AA. conclude that ethnic cultural heritage has strong social and political components which should be made central in ethnological analysis.