2 May 2017
Heriot-Watt University, Currie EH14 4AS
The Confucius Institute is celebrating the theming of 2017 as the Scottish Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology, and the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development with a seminar series exploring Scotland-China links in tourism and heritage management.
Chinatowns have become high-profile features of the post-industrial symbolic economy in many cities of Europe, North America and Australasia that have long been gateways to immigration and settlement. Their promotion as exoticized enclaves of consumption – positioned to attract high-yield international tourists and members of the majority culture – contrasts markedly with the marginalization and displacement of Chinatowns in former times. Observers have rightly highlighted the role of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs and business networks that regenerate local economies and revitalize neglected cityscapes. More recent research has considered more deeply the extent to which these co-ethnic agencies are embedded within the wider structures of the “host” society, the asymmetrical relations of power, articulation of the vision, negotiation, and outcomes: intended and otherwise. Despite superficial similarities such as architecture, street furniture, signage and other markers of Chineseness, longitudinal and comparative studies of Chinatowns in different cities and word-regions reveal a range of trajectories. The author welcomes discussion on alternative scenarios for historic Chinatowns in the years to come, including those that give greater emphasis to experimentation through creative exchange and fusion between Chinese and other contemporary cultures.
Follow