Who’s Heritage? : A study of the perceptions of cultural heritage in south-western Sweden among immigrants and Swedes with a foreign background

Abstract: This essay has investigated immigrants and Swedes with foreign background’s perception of cultural heritage as it has been specified by UNESCO. The approach to focus on this particular sample population was born out of the realisation that the EU, nationalist parties and far - right extremists all point to a common her itage. What has not been studied however is the effect of immigration on national heritages and the effect this would have on a perceived Swedish heri tage and a common European heritage and identity. Through the dissemination o f a self - administered online survey, immigrants and Swedes with a foreign background were asked to consider what belongs to culture, their family’s traditions, and potential cultu ral influences among other. The developments of the term heritage in off icial UNESCO documents is briefly mapped and explained before focusing on heritage in the academic field. Through the connection of heritage to cultural nationalism, religion in Europe and identity the term heritage is put into context and put forth as a concept that is never static and is bound to change with every generational shift as described by the theory of cultural nationalism. The results from the survey showed that those who g row up with their parents offering culture from several cultures were more likely to perceive their cultural influences as mixed and identify with more cultures than just one. The notion of a common national or European culture and identity should not be e ntirely accepted at face value. While there are aspects of heritage that resonate with many people a uniform heritage cannot resonate with everyone. It depends on if they feel they have mixed or specific cultural influences or even their gender. This makes a common cultural heritage an impossibility to its fullest extent since it has to compete with local and regional heritage as well. This does not mean there cannot be a common Swedish cultural heritage or a common European heritage in the future but it wi ll never be uniform in the way it is presented in official heritage discourses.