“The Role of Community Heritage in the Process of Post-Conflict Recovery,” with cases in Kosovo supervised by Professor Gisèle Gantois (Research Group ‘Urban Projects, Collective Spaces and Local Identities’) and co-supervised by Professor Peter Vermeersch (Faculty of Social Sciences – LINES) is part of the ‘Restoring Broken Journeys’ research project that explores an alternative approach to heritage studies in post-conflict societies. Today, heritage rehabilitation after violent conflicts is often driven by material restoration and monumentalization under a dominant, official narrative, which can overlook the social lives that existed before the conflict. In contrast, this project shifts attention from prominent sites to ordinary built environments, which often bear the most valuable traces of the collective memories of a community. Unfortunately, they were often not only the target of conflicts between groups, but also the scene of atrocities. While using community heritage as a heuristic tool, this study seeks to uncover how community heritage can contribute to post-conflict recovery, particularly in contexts of intergroup violence and deep-rooted disputes. It aims to foster inclusive narratives and rebuild social cohesion through a spatial, community-centered approach starting with the method of Interactive Walking.
PhD project by Njomëza Mulhaxha
Supervisors:
Prof. dr. Gisèle Gantois (supervisor, KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture)
Prof. dr. Peter Vermeersch (co-supervisor, KU Leuven Faculty of Social Sciences)
Image source: ‘Rilindja’ Press Palace amid the expulsion of its workers and the print ban by regime forces. Photograph by Iliaz Bylykbashi.
This PhD project is part of the Research Cell ‘Restoring Broken Journeys‘
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