The making and unmaking of heritage

Heritage is defined by history which is by nature multi layered. The passage of time and the perspectives it affords, enables and even necessitates constant reexamination and reinterpretation of history. What effect do changes in historical perspective then have upon the definition of heritage which relies on an understanding of its history? The present paper attempts to engage with the notion of heritage, criteria of its definition, and the mutable nature of such designations with specific reference to architectural constructions and historical cities that enjoy or have enjoyed in the past the status of a ‘World Heritage Site’. Examples such as the Louvre museum in Paris or the King’s Cross station in London make an interesting study as they not only allow insight into the past but reflect the changes and adaptation over a period of time. Multiple alterations, some very recently, have modified them extensively since the time they were accorded the ‘World Heritage Site’ status. The above examples are contrasted by sites ridden with conflict such as the Bamiyan Valley. This site has been placed under the ‘World Heritage In Danger’ list by UNESCO taking into account the destruction of the Buddha statues in the region. The act of vandalism itself has had dual implications. While causing an irreparable loss to mankind of its heritage, it also serves as an effective symbol of religious fanaticism that is a pressing concern of our times. The paper then moves on to explore the case of Dresden which lost its ‘World Heritage’ status with the construction of the Waldschlösschen Bridge. This is a particularly interesting case because with the absolute destruction of the city during the Second World War, it was necessary to reconstruct the historical city while simultaneously acknowledging and addressing the modern day requirements. During the reconstruction, with the readaptation of the spaces, it was almost impossible to replicate the original architectural program or to undertake such a large reconstruction project employing only the traditional techniques and materials. This essentially made it a new city constructed in the image of the old. The recent necessity of a growing city was met by the construction of a bridge that has caused it to lose its ‘World Heritage’ status. Finally, this paper endeavours to foster discussion of questions central to the definition of heritage such as what happens when we have to adapt a living space to avoid its deterioration and descent into dereliction by overuse. Does it necessarily lose its historical value? What exactly is Historical value?.

La sabiduría árabe antigua reflejada en los proverbios de Al-Maydani: traducción y análisis paremiológico de un corpus seleccionado

Little is known about Ancient Arabia before the arrival of Islam as it was an area with few inhabited settlements and it was mostly a passageway for traders. In those inhabited settlements we could find some settled Arabs, but the prevailing life style was that of the rest of the population, nomadic Bedouin Arabs who travelled from place to place looking for water and pasture for their cattle, which they lived off. The desert was their natural habitat, a hostile environment full of danger where life was not easy. Camel taming made it possible for them to live that nomadic lifestyle, and the Bedouins became inseparable from their camels and from their horses and cattle. In order to make a living they worked as hunters, transported caravans, and plundered too. In the pre-Islamic era, knowledge was transmitted by oral communication, so very little written information about that time and place remains. One thing that has been handed down are proverbs, which after the 8th Century started to be collected by several writers in various written works. Given the characteristics of those proverbs, which are conserved almost intact from their origins, we can learn much about the lifestyle in Ancient Arabia. What is to be investigated within this thesis is whether through Paremiology it is possible to learn more about this area at this historic moment that precedes the arrival of Islam, and the first years of this religion. To learn about history, we usually rely on historians and palaeontologists, but this work will demonstrate that through Paremiology it is possible to know other aspects of culture, their knowledge, the way of life, thinking, society, etc...

La adaptación teatral de textos narrativos en España, 1972-2012

Novel or story adaptations and also dramatic texts versions, that need to be translated and updated to modern audiences are quite frequent in today`s theatre. This study aims to show the state of contemporary stage adaptation of narrative texts and, specifically, its evolution in Spain in the last forty years (1972-2012). To do this, I have tried to gather, first, all the terminology associated with the concept of stage adaptation: version, dramaturgy, rewriting, translation, interpretation, updating and consolidation. The theoretical part of the work begins with the various definitions of the concept of dramatization. All the positions reflected by theorists and specialists in the field come together when explaining the term adaptation or theatre version: the intervention on the original text is based on the transformation or change, radical or superficial, for its effective representation in the theatre. In contemporary times, the concept of adaptation applies to any kind of intervention, from the translation of the original (and rewriting) to the dramaturgical work involved in creating a new sense. In turn, any theatre adaptation requires a dramaturgical operation and supports all possible moves: reorganization of the story, breakage, reduced characters, dramatic concentration, incorporation of foreign texts, installation and collage, changes to the plot, etc. Although there is no definitive model for the theatre adaptation of works, several authors and theatrical theorists propose guidelines and types of adaptation to the transformation of a work into another or one genre into a different one; and regarding narrative texts, provide criteria for interpreting the original text. The issue for many authors is the danger of modifying or betraying the sense or the form of the original text, considering it as simple material for the play. Finally, it follows that there is affinity of thought among authors finding that there is no differentiation between adaptation and version: both terms refer to the same in the theatrical event and are also terms used equally for the countless film adaptations of novels and plays...