Introduction: Affective Heritage Practice

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book investigates the post-Soviet-era practices of searching for the remains of Russian soldiers lost during World War II. It looks at the 'participatory turn' in art and heritage re-enactment in the making of the documentary film The Battle of Orgreave. The book illustrates the ways in which emotions are linked to appeals to reason in each speech to respectively justify or evade the apology. It focuses on issues of empathy and draws on workshops with community members and visitors to explore how empathy underpins the complex and contradictory ways in which visitors respond to the exhibitions on migration. The book argues that the pedagogical utility of emotional reflexivity in engendering an active empathy that takes on responsibilities for the plights of others.