International, multi-disciplinary perspectives on the key question of community engagement in theory and practice in a diverse range of heritage settings.Across the global networks of heritage sites, museums, and galleries, the importance of communities to the interpretation and conservation of heritage is increasingly being recognised. Yet the very term "meaningful community engagement" betrays a myriad of contrary approaches and understandings. Who is a community? How can they engage with heritage and why would they want to? How do communities and heritage professionals perceive one another? What does itmean to "engage"? These questions unsettle the very foundations of community engagement and indicate a need to unpick this important but complex trend. Engaging Heritage, Engaging Communities critically explores the latest debates and practices surrounding community collaboration. By examining the different ways in which communities participate in heritage projects, the book questions the benefits, costs and limitations of community engagement. Whether communities are engaging through innovative initiatives or in response to economic, political or social factors, there is a need to understand how such engagements are conceptualised, facilitated and experienced by boththe organisations and the communities involved. Bryony Onciul is Lecturer in History at the University of Exeter; Michelle Stefano is the Co-Director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program for the state of Maryland and Visiting Assistant Professor in American Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Stephanie Hawke is a project manager and fundraiser, working on a range of projects aiming to engage communities with culturalheritage. Contributors: Gregory Ashworth, Evita Busa, Helen Graham, Julian Hartley, Stephanie Hawke, Carl Hogsden, Shatha Abu Khafajah, Nicole King, Bernadette Lynch, Billie Lythberg, Conal McCarthy, Ashley Minner, Wayne Ngata, Bryony Onciul, Elizabeth Pishief, Gregory Ramshaw, Philipp Schorch, Justin Sikora, Michelle Stefano, Helen Tully, John Tunbridge.

Introduction - Bryony OnciulThe Gate in the Wall: Beyond Happiness-making in Museums - Bernadette LynchAssembling Communities: Curatorial Practices, Material Culture and Meanings - Philipp SchorchInterview: John Tunbridge - John Everard TunbridgeInterview: Gregory Ashworth - Gregory AshworthEngaging with Maori and Archaeologists: Heritage Theory and Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand - Elizabeth Dale PishiefHorizontality: Tactical Politics for Participation and Museums - Helen GrahamRe-imagining Egypt: Artefacts, Contemporary Art and Community Engagement in the Museum - Helen TullyInterview: Evita Busa - Evita BusaInterview: Shatha Abu Khafajah - Shatha Abu-KhafajahEngaging Communities of De-industrialisation: the Mapping Baybrook and Mill Stories Projects of Baltimore, USA - Michelle L. StefanoEngaging Communities of De-industrialisation: the Mapping Baybrook and Mill Stories Projects of Baltimore, USA - Nicole KingInterview: Ashley Minner - Ashley Colleen MinnerEmbattled Legacies: Challenges in Community Engagement at Historic Battlefields in the UK - Justin SikoraAt the Community Level: Intangible Cultural Heritage as Naturally-occurring Ecomuseums - Michelle L. StefanoSubaltern Sports Heritage - Gregory RamshawMuseums and the Symbolic Capital of Social Media Space - Julian HartleyRelational Systems and Ancient Futures: Co-creating a Digital Contact Network in Theory and Practice - Billie LythbergRelational Systems and Ancient Futures: Co-creating a Digital Contact Network in Theory and Practice - Carl HogsdenRelational Systems and Ancient Futures: Co-creating a Digital Contact Network in Theory and Practice - Wayne NgataInterview: Conal McCarthy - Conal McCarthy