Heritage Education as a Tool of Social, Ethnic, and Religious Cohesion in Iraq: Empirical Insights

Abstract

While the politicization of cultural heritage in Iraq is widely covered by research, little attention is dedicated to how exactly heritage education has been implemented, the knowledge gap this article aims to address. Focusing on the methods employed to educate an average citizen in cultural heritage (how) rather than on the motivation behind them (why), the article unveils novel empirical data drawn from 25 oral history interviews with Iraqi heritage-sector stakeholders demonstrating several important findings. First, a profound gap emerges between cultural awareness levels in pre-1990 and contemporary Iraqi society. Second, the data allows us to identify 12 categories of pre-1990 heritage education strategies, nearly all of which are currently missing or slowly being revived. Third, the respondents disclose a strong reliance on heritage education potential for raising cultural awareness in the sectarianism-torn society. Finally, the article suggests a holistic and inclusive heritage education methodology as a tool of social, ethnic, and religious cohesion in Iraq.

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