IIC Book Club 2025
Would you like to join the IIC Book Club for 2025?
The IIC Book Club offers an opportunity to read conservation literature in a distinct, direct, and diverse way. Let us tell you how we plan on doing this…
We will begin reading the text together on the week commencing the 9th of June. Readers will receive weekly updates detailing chapter overviews and links to further reading material. We will meet three times with the author and a specialist guest over the span of four months.
Our chosen text is: A Theory of Cultural Heritage by Dr. Salvador Muñoz-Viñas
Those who are interested in joining the Club will be encouraged to purchase or borrow the text and “read along” with their peers. The group will be regularly updated on a weekly basis with set-goals for chapter progression, themes to consider in relation to the reading material, and reminders to attend and participate in the presentation, discussion, and final author panel.
We will officially begin reading the text on June 10th. Weekly emails will keep the Club members engaged with key chapter insights and additional reading materials. Recordings of the lectures will be hosted on our Community Platform.
In the third week of the programme, Book Club participants will officially be introduced to the author, Dr. Salvador Muñoz-Viñas. This dialogue will take place on the 19th of June at 6.30pm UK Time. At this point in the programme, Dr. Muñoz-Viñas will briefly present about the background to writing the book and its reflections on cultural heritage theory. We will then open it up to an audience discussion that delves into the nuances of intangible cultural heritage and conservation practices.
On the 31st of July at 6.30pm UK Time, members are invited to join a presentation by Dr. James Janowski, Emeritus Elliott Professor of Philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College (Virginia, USA), who will share his perspectives on this season's chosen book.
The programme will conclude on the 4th of September at 6.30pm UK Time with a discussion panel hosted via Zoom. The author, Dr. Salvador Muñoz-Viñas, and specialist guest Dr. James Janowski will deep-dive into the text and its broader themes.
Author
Dr. Salvador Muñoz-Viñas
Dr. Muñoz-Viñas is a paper conservator and conservation theorist working at the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain. He has published numerous works that explore the evolving concept of cultural heritage and its implications for conservation theory and practice. His recent work, A Theory of Cultural Heritage (2023), offers critical insights into the intangible aspects of heritage and challenges the conventional understanding of what cultural heritage truly means in today’s conservation profession.
Guest lecturer
Dr. James Janowski
Dr. James Janowski is the Emeritus Elliott Professor of Philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, USA. He has developed a keen interest in cultural heritage conservation, and his perspectives will offer a philosophical exploration of the complexities and challenges of preserving intangible cultural heritage in contemporary times.
We do hope you decide to join us for a stimulating opportunity to stretch and challenge how you think about art, science, and cultural heritage, alongside other IIC members.
This Book Club is free and open to everyone. To register for the programme, please complete the application form here.
The programme is created by our Book Club Coordinator, Alexandra Taylor.
If you have any questions regarding the programme, then please get in touch with us at ellie.sweetnam@iiconservation.org