Students will develop critical and interpretative skills on issues related to heritage, active protection, management, and legislation. They will acquire knowledge concerning in particular how to: • orient in specialist historiography on heritage studies and heritage-led research; • reach an articulated understanding of the relationship among contemporary society and memory, and heritage; • understand the complex relationship among urban growth (linked to constantly changing needs), the architectural and urban heritage, and the memory of places; • critically interpret heritage-making processes (heritagization) as dynamic and historically constructed practices shaped by cultural, social, and political transformations; • understand heritage as a multilayered resource produced through the interaction of institutions, communities, and multiple systems of values and representation; • publicly present their critical thinking; • discuss among peers based on an awareness gained on a scientific basis. Students will acquire critical skills, also within each module: For the History of architecture module • ability to survey, identify and assess different kind of sources to shape a research question and elaborate a reasoned critical bibliography; • skills to leverage web resources and create digital formats; • ability to deal with a (digital) collaborative approach and methods in research. For the Territory and environment sociology module • knowledge of ethnographic techniques, interview techniques and visual mapping of controversial issues around heritage. They will learn to plan and conduct research using these methods; • skills of critical reading and analysis. The students will gain knowledge on: 1. how to read critically relevant literature; 2. how to choose the right methods to approach their case studies and collect data; 3. how to analyse the collected data; 4. how to contextualise and analyse findings from the case studies within the context of the selected literature. For the Administrative law module • abilities in understanding contemporary issues concerning cultural heritage law and landscape protection and ability to orient themselves among administrative law tools relating to public-private collaboration and partnerships in the field; • orient themselves in the contemporary debate and in the regulatory framework of the subject. Such knowledge and skills will be acquired during the workshop through different types of activities that will develop different kinds of competences: ex-cathedra lessons in a limited number and mainly intended as methodological orientation, teamwork, specific research exercises, public presentations of the research and study activities carried out in groups, seminar discussions, individual study, and the reading of texts belonging to a recommended and potentially expandable bibliography.

The knowledge of the history of modern and contemporary architecture is considered a fundamental prerequisite along with the basis of the theory of restoration. These disciplines are taught in the academic three-year basic cycle. Preconditions about urban sociology and administrative law are not required.

The seminar focuses on the notion of Cultural Heritage, the notion of active protection, the spatial-temporal dimension of heritage, its connections with the human and natural ecosystem, the concepts of place, and sustainable development. Cultural Heritage is a multifaceted notion that includes different readings and needs. It also requires various and integrated expertise. The course will address relevant topics to discuss specific key aspects with a focus on relationships between cultural heritage and social innovation. The workshop aims to provide some theoretical and analytical knowledge and tools on the heritage matter under the historical, sociological, and legal main perspectives. Theoretical heritage knowledge and methodological approaches will also explore the new active roles of communities and individuals in heritage preservation. For this purpose, the workshop deals with three modules. The historical path (2 Credits) focuses on Cultural Heritage understandings. Collaborative methods will enable students to a critical shared reflection on the past, the collective memories, multifaceted heritage in time and space, and its impacts on the current society. We will consider different kinds of heritage conceptualisations especially related to the built environment, cities, and territories developments such as heritage of industrialization, historical (urban/cultural) landscapes, trasnational heritage, heritage and gender, controversial heritage. Both tangible and intangible heritage will be included. The course also contains a sociological methodological component (2 Credits). It will introduce the students to sociological methodologies to approach heritage. We will cover a number of techniques including interviews, ethnographic methods and mapping controversies techniques. The students will learn how to choose the appropriate methodology to approach their case studies. The development of instruments of shared administration and the principle of horizontal subsidiarity will also be tackled. In particular, the topics covered will concern complex concepts such as territory, space and place, local development, participatory democracy and public participation, community action and cultural heritage, commons, and horizontal subsidiarity. The aim is to understand a territorial context starting from its observation and the voice of public and private subjects, associations, and individuals. Legislation relating to Cultural Heritage will be analysed to give future professionals of the territory and the environment a systematic basis of reference for orientation within the legal and institutional framework of the territory's government and, in particular, the legislation of cultural heritage and landscape.

The seminar includes intermediate choral discussions: therefore, attendance is recommended. Each group exercise must be produced following the deadlines given by the instructor during the semester

The seminar focuses on Cultural Heritage as a dynamic and multifaceted field, addressing the concepts of active protection, place, sustainable development, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of heritage in relation to human and natural ecosystems. The course explores the relationships between cultural heritage, social innovation, and contemporary society through interdisciplinary historical, sociological, and legal perspectives. Particular attention is devoted to heritage-making processes, critical approaches to preservation, and the evolving role of communities and individuals in the protection, management, and enhancement of heritage. The workshop provides theoretical, analytical, and methodological tools for understanding heritage across different scales and contexts. The workshop is organised into three modules. The historical module (2 Credits) examines critical understandings of Cultural Heritage and collaborative approaches to the study of collective memory, the built environment, and territorial transformations. Topics include industrial heritage, historical urban and cultural landscapes, transnational and controversial heritage, heritage and gender, and the relationships between tangible and intangible heritage. The sociological methodological module (2 Credits) introduces students to sociological research methods applied to heritage studies, including interviews, ethnographic methods, and mapping controversies. The module addresses concepts such as territory, space and place, local development, participatory democracy, commons, horizontal subsidiarity, and community action, with the aim of understanding territorial contexts through the perspectives of institutions, associations, and local communities. The administrative law module (2 Credits) provides an introduction to the legal and institutional framework of Cultural Heritage and landscape protection. The module focuses on contemporary issues related to heritage governance, public-private collaboration, participatory management, and regulatory tools for the protection and enhancement of cultural and landscape heritage. The course will include guest lecturers and possible site trips.

Specific bibliographical references will be provided by the teachers according to detailed topics. As a general reading suggestion framework: Compulsory (MUST-READ) • UNESCO, (1972) Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. • Tunbridge, J. E., & Ashworth, G. J. (1996). Dissonant Heritage: The Management of the Past as a Resource in Conflict. Chichester: Wiley. (Read the chapters: Chapter 1, “Dissonant Heritage”; Chapter 2, “The Uses and Abuses of Heritage”). • Council of Europe (2005). Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society — Faro Convention. • Smith, L. (2006). Uses of Heritage. London/New York: Routledge. (read the chapters: Introduction; Chapter 1, “The Discourse of Heritage”; Chapter 2, “Authorized Heritage Discourse”) • Bandarin, F., & van Oers, R. (2012). The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. (Read the Introduction; and Chapter 1, “The Historic Urban Landscape Approach”). • Macdonald, S. (2013). Memorylands: Heritage and Identity in Europe Today. London/New York: Routledge. (Read the chapters: Chapter 2, “Past Presencing”; Chapter 6, “Difficult Heritage”). • Meskell, L. (2018). A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Read the chapters: Introduction; Chapter 5, “The Politics of World Heritage”). Further Reading: • Choay, F. (1992/2001). The Invention of the Historic Monument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Council of Europe (2000). European Landscape Convention. • Waterton, E., Smith, L., & Campbell, G. (2006). “The Utility of Discourse Analysis to Heritage Studies: The Burra Charter and Social Inclusion.” International Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(4), 339–355. • Macdonald, S. (2009). Difficult Heritage: Negotiating the Nazi Past in Nuremberg and Beyond. London/New York: Routledge. • Harrison, R. (2013). Heritage: Critical Approaches. London/New York: Routledge. • Ashworth G. J., and Graham, Brian (eds.), (2016). Senses of Place: Sense of Time, Routledge, London, • Bollier D. and Helfrich S. (2019) The insurgent Power of Commons, New Society. • Ciaffi D. (2019) “Sharing the Commons as a ‘New Top’ of Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation” in Built Environment vol. 45, p. 162-172 • Dinler, M. (2021). Counter-Mapping through Digital Tools as an Approach to Urban History: Investigating the Spatial Condition of Activism. Sustainability, 13(16), 8904. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168904 • Dinler, M. (2025). Heritage and Climate Injustice. In: Saloul, I., Baillie, B. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61493-5_53-1 • Dinler, M. & Megarry, W. (2026), The Routledge Handbook on Cultural Heritage and Climate Justice, Oxon: Routledge.

Lecture slides; Text book; Exercises; Lab exercises;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project;

Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project; Group compulsory oral exam (presentation of the group outcome); Throughout the semester you will be working in groups on a specific case study to investigate how community perspectives can be included in imagining heritage-informed futures. Your assessment will be done according to both the quality and the development of the grouops work and individual skills. In particular, your final vote matrix and each development criterial is presented below: - The final group work on the case study (50 % - group vote): You are expected to work as a group to analyse your case study from the points of view discussed throughout the semester to understand how community perspectives to heritage can help imagine a common future. You need to submit your final work 1 week before the exam date. - Process diary (15 % - individual vote): Each group is requested to keep a diary. Members should write in turn to register not only the devleopment of the process but also to include visuals as well as the group dynamics, emotions, challenges, excitements. Physical diary is preferred although online diaries are also acceptable. You need to submit your diary 1 week before the exam date. - Final Presentation (20% - individual vote): Each member of the group is requested to make a quick ‘elevator pitch’ on the exam date. Members of the teaching committee MAY pose questions from the course contents if they see necessary. - Peer review (15 % - individual vote): You will receive an anonymous evaluation from your group mates.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.