This book is about the way that professionals in archaeology and in other sectors of heritage interact with a range of stakeholder groups, communities and the wider public. Whilst these issues have been researched and discussed over many years and in many geographical contexts, the debate seems to have settled into a comfortable stasis wherein it is assumed that all that can be done by way of engagement has been done and there is little left to achieve. In some cases, such engagement is built on legislation or codes of ethics and there can be little doubt that it is an important and significant aspect of heritage policy.

This book is different, however, because it questions not so much the motivations of heritage professionals but the nature of the engagement itself, the extent to which this is collaborative or contested and the implications this has for the communities concerned. Furthermore, in exploring these issues in a variety of contexts around the world, it recognises that heritage provides a source of engagement within communities that is separate from professional discourse and can thus enable them to find voices of their own in the political processes that concern them and affect their development, identity and well-being.

This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Heritage Studies.

Emma Waterton is Senior Lecturer in Heritage and Tourism. She holds an RCUK Fellowship in History and Heritage at Keele University. Her interests include unpacking the discursive constructions of 'heritage'; community involvement in the management of heritage; the divisions implied between tangible and intangible heritage; and the role played by visual media. Publications include the co-authored volume (with Laurajane Smith) Heritage, Communities and Archaeology (Duckworth 2009) and the co-edited volume (with Steve Watson) Culture, Heritage and Representations (Ashgate 2010).

Steve Watson is a Principal Lecturer at York St John University, where he teaches tourism and heritage-related subjects. His interests are in the areas of cultural and heritage tourism and the social, cultural and representational processes by which places are transformed into tourist destinations. He is also concerned with the relationships between heritage and host communities and the nature of the interface between professional practice and community involvement in the formulation and construction of heritage. He has co-edited (with Emma Waterton) Culture, Heritage and Representations (Ashgate 2010).