The studies conducted in this programme centre on different situations in which the past is reconstructed in order to respond to current objectives. They analyse how collective memory is invented and manipulated on a regional and national level in order to form new images of cities (Belgrade, Marseille), regions (the Caribbean) or countries (Cuba, Madagascar, Thailand, Mexico and Belize). These analyses delve into the processes of promoting material and symbolic patrimony which accompany the fabrication of collective memory. Other analyses explore the utilisation of history: political struggles by means of elaborated accounts of events or historical figures, the production of official and counter images of the city, or the manipulation of ethnic and racial identities in the production of tourist images.
