13 Mar Lunchtime Lecture on Historic Preservation
Ned Kaufman (Historic Preservation, Columbia University)
Thursday, March 13 / 1:00 PM
UCSB MultiCultural Center
Dr. Ned Kaufman will do a lunchtime talk about his current research around historic conservation, social justice, intangible resources, sustainability and the economics of heritage. He will also discuss his career inside and outside of academia. As more Ph.D.’s are seeking alternative careers, by choice and by necessity, Dr. Kaufman’s academic and non-academic career offers an example of a path of intellectually challenging and worthwhile work as a consultant, a public historian and a professor. A light lunch will be served at the session.
Dr. Kaufman’s work is at the vanguard of historic preservation thought and activism. His scholarship, teaching and practice confront outmoded conventions and inspire us to question traditional methodologies for saving and interpreting historic sites. His scholarship reminds us why we must continue asking “why” we are preserving a site, challenging use to look beyond the analysis of beautiful buildings and materials conservation to connect with places through our shared life stories.
His work deepens public awareness of “race,” “place” and “story” through examining cultural, economic and theoretical challenges that are critical issues to the vitality and sustainability of the field for practitioners and the historic preservation movement generally. The need for enhancement of the inclusion of African American, Latino, and Asian experiences interpretation, identification and protection of sites of historical significance and conscience, and drawing diverse communities into American mainstream preservation conversations are themes Dr. Kaufman confronts head on in his work. Further his work considers the implications of emerging “transnational” group identities for interpretation and advocacy in the broader cultural landscape and historic preservation.
Dr. Ned Kaufman is principal of Kaufman Heritage Conservation and Adjunct Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University. Previously, Dr. Kaufman served as director of historic preservation at the Municipal Art Society of New York, where he led campaigns to protect the African Burial Ground, Audubon Ballroom, Ellis and Governors Islands, and other historic sites. He also founded and co-directed Place Matters as well as the international research and training program at Rafael Viñoly Architects. His books include Place, Race, and Story: Essays in the Past and Future of Historic Preservation (2009) and Pressures and Distortions: City Dwellers as Builders and Critics (2011), as well as histories of Sagamore Hill and Springfield Armory National Historic Sites. He has advised the National Trust on sustainability policy and is a U.S. voting member on the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Intangible Heritage.
Sponsored by the IHC, a Grant from the UCSB Graduate Division,UCSB Public History Graduate Student Association, UCSB Museum, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, the Dept. of History, and the Dept. of Art History and Architecture.