Specialization and Transversality: an Undecidable Couple. University, Cultural Heritage and Restoration

Abstract

The issue of specialization and/or transversality, disciplinarity and/or multi/ inter / trans / co-disciplinarity is widely discussed; this may be partly due to the fact that notions of current regional ontologies, borders and identities have been brought into question. This topic is fundamental to a number of areas within university politics and management. It is at the basis of the “Reform of knowledges” proposal by the National University Council (CUN) and the discussion around the creation of a new Master Course in Enhancement and Management of Cultural Heritage, as well as the ongoing debate on the appointment of the members of the Technical-Scientific Committees of the MiBACT. Currently, the issue is also of central importance to the ongoing work on the updating of Bachelor's and Master's Degree Courses, on teaching methods and on the skills necessary to Architecture graduates. Since the work of restoration appertains to architecture, our discipline is fully involved, especially in the face of the current crisis in the building sector and the consequent crisis of degrees and masters which refer to that sector. These areas of discussion clearly show how the theme of cultural heritage, its definition and its restoration, is of prime importance and therefore how important it is to develop a common reflection on this. The current contribution aims to offer a framework for these discussions, combined with a critical and personal reading.