Steiner, Marion: ‘Industrial Heritage From the South: Decolonial Approaches to the Social Construction of Heritage and Preservation Practices’. In: Tim Strangleman, Steven High, Sherry Linkon, Stefan Berger, Jackie Clarke, David Nattleingham (eds.): The Routledge International Handbook of Deindustrialization Studies. London: Routledge, 2025, Chapter 27, pp. 459-483, ISBN 9781032311524, DOI (book): https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003308324, DOI (chapter): https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003308324-38
Abstract. “Industrial Heritage” as a concept emerged in the 1970s and 80s in the Global North in the wake of the crises that deindustrialization provoked there at the time. Since then, theories and methods that developed from these specific contexts have been transferred to other world regions without much questioning of whether this was, and is, at all appropriate given the uneven experience of (de)industrialization and the distinctive social realities on the ground in each case. This chapter’s first part thus discusses fundamental convictions around Thinking Industrial Heritage from the South. The second part on Making Industrial Heritage from the Grounds presents three specific cases in Latin America and Asia highlighting the projects of five women who work and reflect on Postcolonial Heritage and Glocal Communities, Radical Nostalgia and Insurgent Heritage, Toxic Heritage, Healing and Global Networks of Care. Drawn together on the basis of active listening beyond language barriers, direct human exchange and immersion to the field, these situated and grounded experiences offer crucial conceptual and methodological suggestions for the on-going international industrial heritage debate. Ultimately, we aim to contribute to create decolonial futures and to critically remake global heritage organizations such as TICCIH and UNESCO.
The book. The Routledge International Handbook of Deindustrialization Studies is a timely volume that provides an overview of this interdisciplinary field that emerged in response to the widespread decline of manufacturing and heavy industry from the 1980s onward. Edited by prominent figures in the field, the volume brings together many of the leading scholars from a range of countries across the globe to offer a multifaceted overview of deindustrialization and its impact.
Deindustrialization has been cited as one of the factors behind the rise of the far right, and to a lesser extent the far left, across Europe, the rise and success of Trumpism in the US, and the Brexit vote as well as the more recent and sudden erosion of UK Labour’s ‘Red Wall’ of the North of England. This collection brings together scholars of deindustrialization around the globe and from a wide variety of academic disciplines including history, sociology, politics, geography, economics, anthropology, literature, arts practice, photography, heritage, and cultural studies. In doing so, the volume explores the roots of deindustrialization across the world, highlights the key themes and issues in the field, illustrates the intersectional and interdisciplinary character of the field, and shows how deindustrialization lies at the heart of many of the key political, cultural, social, and economic issues of our time.
Written in a clear and accessible style, the Handbook is a comprehensive interdisciplinary volume for this young but maturing field. The volume is a valuable resource for students, teachers, and researchers interested in industrial decline, closure, and the multifaceted impacts they cause. It speaks to readers across the arts, humanities, and social and political sciences concerned with deindustrialization broadly defined.
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The book was elaborated in connection with the transnational research project Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time (DéPOT), led by Steven High, Concordia University, Canada, and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada. My contribution to this book is also an outcome of my ANID-FONDECYT research project “Luz, Poder y Progreso” (2023-2026). The peer reviewed edited manuscript was submitted to Routledge in July 2024; the final book has been published in April 2025. It can be purchased here with Routledge. An open access version of my chapter will be available soon.