Handicrafting Gender: Craft, Performativity and Cultural Heritage
2018 (English)In: Gender and Heritage: Performance, Place and Politics / [ed] Wera Grahn, Ross J. Wilson, London: Routledge, 2018, p. 44-60Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
To write the history of craft and heritage engages with constructing a canon of known practices parallel to deconstructing the differences incorporated in institutions dealing with craft. Craft objects have long since been considered as heritage, but craft is also recognized as ’intangible heritage’. This can be seen in UNESCO’s (2008) designation of ’traditional craftmanship’ as a part of global intangible heritage. However, craft’s gendered character is not equally recognized. In this article we will discuss craft, heritage and gender from a performativity perspective on making. The main question is how gender patterns are reflected in the understanding of craft, and in heritage making. The aim is to make visible the gender demarcations in the making of craft. We argue that the making of craft and its heritage status has been highly charged with gender differences. Recognizing this is of importance to be able to understand and to challenge heritage making processes and canons when it comes to craft. After a short theoretical background focusing on performativity and the canon of gender differences, three empirical examples are outlined. The first is about organizational aspects of handicraft, the second concerning the technique of crocheting, and the third considering visual representations of crafting, using empirical archival and published materials from the Home Craft Movement in Sweden.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
London: Routledge, 2018. p. 44-60
Series
Key Issues in Cultural Heritage
Keywords [en]
craft, crafting, handicraft, gender, heritage, sloyd
Keywords [sv]
kulturarv, görande, hemslöjd, slöjd, genus, konsthantverk
National Category
Cultural Studies Art History
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:konstfack:diva-8172Libris ID: 22430487ISBN: 9781138208148 (print)ISBN: 9781138208162 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:konstfack-8172DiVA, id: diva2:1610622
Note
About the book:Gender and Heritage brings together a group of international scholars to examine the performance, place and politics of gender within heritage. Through a series of case studies, models and assessments, the significance of understanding and working with concepts of gender is demonstrated as a dynamic and reforming agenda. Demonstrating that gender has become an increasingly important area for heritage scholarship, the collection argues that it should also be recognised as a central structuring device within society and the location where a critical heritage studies can emerge. Drawing on contributions from around the world, this edited collection provides a range of innovative approaches to using gender as a mode of enquiry. From the politics of museum displays, the exploration of pedagogy, the role of local initiatives and the legal frameworks that structure representation, the volume’s diversity and objectives represent a challenge for students, academics and professionals to rethink gender. Rather than featuring gender as an addition to wider discussions of heritage, this volume makes gender the focus of concern as a means of building a new agenda within the field. This volume, which addresses how we engage with gender and heritage in both practice and theory, is essential reading for scholars at all levels and should also serve as a useful guide for practitioners.
2021-11-112021-11-112022-06-02Bibliographically approved