Negotiated encoding and decoding of sensitive heritage

Sensitive heritage can recreate or intensify the past conflicts and tensions with the issues of heritage representation and interpretation in contemporary contexts. Dealing with sensitive heritage in contemporary contexts encompasses a balance of its moral, political and cultural values. While drawing attention to the potential of tourism as an active and creative agent for peacebuilding and reconciliation, this chapter aims to critically evaluate how the negotiation processes of sensitive heritage are engaged with both encoding and decoding in the process of interpreting difficult past. This evaluation raises questions of how and to what extent sensitive heritage can be negotiated through heritage representations, interpretations and tourist perceptions. This chapter will evaluate a discursive relationship between negotiated encoding and decoding of sensitive heritage, with a greater emphasis on power relations, meaning-making processes and peacebuilding narratives. We employ semi-structured interviews, as well as netnographic discourse analysis of social media content generated from the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in China. This case study will focus on post-colonial heritage conflicts and negotiations, particularly in dealing with the traumatic memories of Japanese colonialism that require more scholarly attention in the context of heritage and peace-building. The findings will contribute to a critical understanding of negotiated encoding and decoding of nationalism, cultural trauma, and peace-building. The significance of more inclusive representations, localised and context-specific negotiation practices will be of interest to various stakeholders in heritage interpretation, peace-building dialogues, and commemoration processes.