Theme:
3. Heritage Narratives and Representations
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Places of Imagination: An Approach to Fictional Landscapes
Content:
In places of imagination, fiction and reality overlap. Visitors simultaneously perceive a real and an imaginary world. They are real because they occupy a place and possess material remains. However, they are also imaginary because a visitor is aware of living in a simulated and/or recreated place. These places appear real because they occupy a place and possess material remains. Nevertheless, imaginary because the visitor becomes aware that they represent a simulated and recreated place.
Places of imagination exist worldwide since fiction has always been part of human history. They often take the form of displays in the landscape or architectural constructions. Often such places serve to project real or imagined power, and in so doing, they can stimulate collective imagination. Nevertheless, archaeologists and heritage scientists have considered places of imagination as unimportant, not even deserving of protection or management.
In recent years, the global demand to visit and experience imaginary places has increased, from architectural and urban follies (Parque "El Pasatiempo", Betanzos) to film sets (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter) and theme parks (Sagnlandet Lejre or Paleolítico Vivo, Burgos); from literary routes (Ruta del Quijote or Whitby of Dracula) to "trompe l'oeil" (Romangordo, Cáceres) and even some historicist reconstructions in real places (Makronisos island in Greece).
The session will explore the ontological characteristics of places of imagination, where concepts of authenticity or veracity and their social effects interact. Understanding such places as multifaceted, we welcome approaches from archaeology, heritage studies, and related scientific disciplines with diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives focused on exploring places of imagination to create insights into social landscapes and social life.
Keywords:
Places of imagination, Fictional landscapes, Simulacrum, Film sets, Theme Parks, Authenticity
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Jesus Martin (Spain) 1
Co-organisers:
Tiina Äikäs (Finland) 2
David Barreiro (Spain) 3
Affiliations:
1. Universiteit van Amsterdam. Faculty of Humanities. Amsterdam Centre for Ancient Studies and Archaeology (ACASA)
2. Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities. University of Oulu
3. Institute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council
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