Kulturens Östarp. Foto: Lizette Gradén.
Kulturens Östarp. Foto: Lizette Gradén.

Understanding the Conditions Facing Heritage in the Hybrid Market – Lizette Gradén och Tom O’Dell

The project studies how heritage institutions that feature historic houses and heritage environments are affected by the changing cultural and economic context in which they operate as market forces that include business models derived from the private sector are increasingly adapted to operations of public heritage institutions in Sweden.

Focusing on four heritage institutions in Sweden and two institutions of Swedish heritage and culture in the United States, the study uses ethnographic methods to examine the opportunities and problems encountered by these institutions as they work in this mixed economy, and it asks how this context affects the framing of heritage, as well as the ethics involved in choosing whose heritage is deemed most relevant to showcase.

The project was completed in 2019.

Tom O’Dell är professor i etnologi vid Lunds universitet. Lizette Gradén är forskare och lärare i etnologi vid Lunds universitet. Forskningsprojektet finansierades av Riksantikvarieämbetet.

Tillsammans koordinerar Gradén och O’Dell samverkansinitiativet Kulturarv, migration och mobilitet vid Lunds universitet, som finansieras av rektors samverkansråd.

Läs mer om samverkansinitiativet