Heritage Conference recommends documentation of travel literature
SHARJAH (WAM)The Second Heritage Conference, organised by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage under the theme 'Popular Heritage Through the Eyes of Others', took place at the Arab Heritage Centre in the University City of Sharjah.The conference issued several scientific and cultural recommendations to enhance studies on travel literature, and representations of the "other" in popular heritage.Participants urged a reevaluation of the writings of travellers and Orientalists using contemporary scientific criticism methodologies.They advocated for analytical comparisons between groups of travellers, from various geographical regions and similar time periods, to derive a more realistic portrayal and compare it with available local studies.The attendees emphasised the need to establish practical laboratories for translating Western research and studies on travel literature, and forming scientific committees to review untranslated travel accounts, particularly Russian works.Among the recommendations was the proposal to extend the conference from two to three days, and to publish the presented research in a scientific book.Attendees also suggested creating an online library featuring works of travellers and Orientalists, along with a specialised database for researchers and translators in this field.The recommendations further called for stimulating critical studies addressing representations of the "other" in popular heritage through various approaches, including anthropology, semiotics, narratives, and post-colonial studies.Additionally, they highlighted the need to examine the interaction between oral and narrative cultures as described by travellers, questioning the ideological and epistemological backgrounds that shaped their representations, and deconstructing the positions of self and other in their writings.Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, stated, "The recommendations from the Second Heritage Conference embody our vision at the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, which aims to establish awareness of the importance of reading popular heritage from multiple perspectives, especially through the writings of travellers and Orientalists."Through this conference, we sought to initiate a critical intellectual dialogue with these records, opening new horizons for understanding the self and the other, and enhancing the presence of our heritage in the global cultural sphere with a scientific spirit and objective approach."
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