An anti-oppressive methodology for more equitable heritage work in the anthropocene: a case study of nature and Barbuda

Abstract

Legacies of inequity and boundaried thinking remain in heritage theory and practice. To create alternative approaches, I propose an anti-oppressive methodology for theoretical and practical heritage approaches. This makes anti-racist, feminist, queer and Indigenous work foundational. My methodology connects to well-being frameworks, demonstrating how alternative heritage approaches can contribute to more equitable futures. I illustrate my methodology via the theme of nature, creating a framework of proposals for heritage work. Dualistic understandings of nature, which contribute to inequity and climate change, have been critiqued by heritage writers. However, conceptual boundaries between humans and nature remain. I integrate concepts from anti-oppressive theory, including a rejection of nature/human separation, into a framework for heritage contexts, aimed at both theory and management. Potential applications of the framework are explored via the case study of Barbuda, looking at questions of climate change, relocation, agency and indigeneity. I argue that heritage work needs to fully engage with politics and activism in order to serve communities, especially as people face the impacts of climate change on their lives and cultures, and provide my methodology and example framework as a potential new approach for challenging but potentially transformative contexts.