The Cultural Heritage research group at the Reinwardt Academy is a place where research, education and practice come together. Since 2011, we have been exploring questions about professional heritage practice. How does this practice take shape in a constantly changing society, and how can heritage professionals help shape that society through their work?  

In recent years, we have carried out various research projects. Central to these is the role of people and their interactions with heritage. For example, we developed the methodology of emotion networking to make these interactions visible and discussable. Students, lecturers, researchers and external partners have collaborated on more than a hundred programmes – some local and small-scale, others international and long-term – to gain a better understanding of what heritage is, how it is created and what role related processes and dynamics play within society.  

Our research yields new insights, methods and publications that can be used directly by heritage professionals working in museums, archives, government, the creative and cultural sector, and beyond. We share this knowledge in books, articles, lectures, workshops and collaborative projects.  

Are you curious about our work? On this website, you will find more information about ongoing and completed research programmes and projects, as well as publications and themes we are working on. We warmly invite you to get to know our researchers, read along, and engage us in conversation about heritage practice.

The professorship staff consists of researchers, project leaders, coordinators, and advisors. Together, they help the Lector realise the ambitions of the research programme and develop the professorship as a whole.

The Cultural Heritage research group has a knowledge circle with researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds who exchange ideas with each other and others in meetings initiated by the research group. They follow each other's research by commenting on manuscripts as critical friends and by participating in each other's conferences. Occasionally, other interested parties join. These may be staff members of the Reinwardt Academy, but also external parties. The knowledge circle also plays a role in the run-up to a research project: lecturers who wish to apply for a research grant are given the opportunity to present their research.