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European University LegaciesProblematic Heritage and Contemporary Practice

Edited by Peter Bille Larsen and Markéta Křížová

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Published 31 March 2027

About this book

Explores problematic university heritage in Europe interrogating both historical legacies and contemporary practice

  • Provides cutting edge analysis of university legacies of colonialism, inequalities and authoritarianism
  • Adopts a prism that includes both tangible and intangible heritage (university buildings, museum collections, botanical gardens and historiography)
  • Interdisciplinary contributions come from historians, anthropologists, and museums studies, bringing on both long-term research engagement and practitioner perspectives

This book challenges straightforward narratives of universities as sites of intellectual progress and societal development, bringing into the debate the remembrances of colonial pasts, material legacies, racialized inequalities and problematic histories. It offers a decentered deep-dive into, and comparative perspective on, the different kinds of university heritage values in both tangible and intangible forms. The book seeks to shed light on how European university heritage is problematized and acknowledged in terms of epistemic reparation and redress. Rather than taking the idea of Europe for granted, editors and contributors opt for an inclusive perspective that acknowledges diversity of positionalities and experiences in different political and historical contexts. By bringing such perspectives together, the book encourages connection and cross-thematic learning on topics such as colonialism, authoritarianism, racism and misogyny.

Reviews

European University Legacies is a bold, courageous and necessary book. It critically examines some of the most difficult aspects of heritage in European universities, including the legacies of slavery, racism, authoritarianism and coloniality. By engaging with these conversations, the book encourages universities to confront the present and work toward more just and equitable futures.
This collection explores university legacies and their complex entanglements of colonial, authoritarian and discriminatory pasts to address their difficult heritage. A very rich contribution to academia that provokes us to engage with discourses from our implicated past in these critical times.
Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Revisiting Problematic University Heritage in Europe: From Pride to Questioning, Learning and Responsibility
Peter Bille Larsen and Markéta Křížová

Part One: Colonialities
1. Reflections on the Sensitive Collections at the University of Coimbra: Case studies in Science and Colonialism
Pedro Casaleiro, Mariana Brum and Mariana Marques

2. From Colonial to International at Wageningen Agricultural College
Larissa Schulte Nordholt

3. Trinity’s Colonial Legacies: Transparency, Instrumentality, and Agency in an Engaged Research Project
Mobeen Hussain, Ciaran O’Neill, and Patrick Walsh

4. Dealing with Complex Heritage: The Case of the Physical Anthropological Collections of the University of Bologna
Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Teresa Nicolosi and Patrizia Battilani

5. Addressing Racism in German Universities: An Utu/Ubuntu Perspective in Cologne University Rahab Njeri


Part Two: Authoritarianisms
​6. Authoritarianism, Post-Soviet Heritage and University Development in Ukraine: The Case of Uzhhorod National University
Myroslava Lendel, Nadiya Kerecman, Pavlo Lenyo, Maria Majorossy and Pavlo Khudish

7. Hrdlička Museum of Man at Charles University: Challenges of Displaying Human Remains as Scientific Objects
Markéta Křížová

8. Difficult Heritage or Objects of Science? The Material Legacy of Nazi German Rock Art Research in Sweden
Mattias Legnér

9. Researching Dissonant Heritage in Estonian Academy of Arts
Riin Alatalu and Anu Soojärv
Part Three: Modernities

10. Re-visiting Heritage: University Policy and Feminist Research at the University of Barcelona
Laura Mercader Amigó, Dolores Pulido and Ramon Dilla Martí

11. Problematic Heritage – a Museological Perspective: Documenting and Displaying University Collections at the University of Graz
Bernadette Biedermann

12. Managing Photography of Racial Science in the Uppsala University Library
Ulrika Kjellman

13. Addressing Legacies of Slavery, Empire and Race at the University of Edinburgh
Ian Stewart and Simon Buck

14. From Exceptionality and International Geneva to Racialized Colonial Entanglements and Modern Backstories
Peter Bille Larsen

Author Biographies
Index

About the contributors

Peter Bille Larsen

Peter Bille Larsen is Senior Lecturer at the University of Geneva, where he heads the Geneva Heritage Lab. He has a strong interest in critical theory, heritage studies and political ecology including work in the fields of environmental governance, international human rights, heritage and sustainable development. He is also a member of the Swiss National UNESCO Commission and presides over the Interface Commission of the Swiss Anthropological Association to strengthen anthropological engagement on critical societal challenges. Recent books include World heritage and human rights (Earthscan, 2017), The Anthropology of Conservation NGOs (Palgrave, 2018), World heritage and sustainable development (Routledge, 2018), Governing heritage and creativity (Letteraventidue, 2023).

Markéta Křížová

Markéta Křížová is Professor of Ibero-American Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague. Her research involves the history of overseas expansion, migrations and cultural transfers, history of modern slavery, as well as intellectual history (including the history of museums and history of racial thought). Her previous publications include the edited volume (with Jitka Maleckova) Central Europe and the Non-European world in the long 19th century (Berlin 2022).