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The Arab Spring has launched political shifts that were once considered impossible. The movement also has increased global awareness of the power of social movements and the potential of technology and social media as agents of large-scale change. At the same time, the human cost in some places, notably Syria, has been extraordinarily high and continues to climb. Moreover, damage to important historical monuments and urban centers and the looting of archaeological sites has led some to call the Arab Spring a “Dark Autumn” for cultural heritage.  As events shift rapidly in the Arab world and beyond, not only is heritage under threat, but the very notions of public space, public voice, and the right to the city are compromised. Under these circumstances, thoughtful and rigorous reflection on the productive possibilities of heritage and design seem all the more urgent.This thematic issue brings together archaeologists, anthropologists, architects, architectural historians, and preservation specialists to explore the role of cultural heritage in a new and shifting Middle East. Rather than simply mourning the loss of important objects and buildings or proposing means to save them, the goal of this special issue is to ask difficult and unresolved questions concerning the heritage enterprise. In particular, the event will explore our desire to hold on to monuments and remnants of the past during an era of great upheaval and uncertainty.This special issue invites papers that explore the notion of heritage in a new light, focusing on the history and practice of architecture and archaeology and its allied design fields, including geography and anthropology. Themes that might be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:1. Unresolved questions concerning the heritage enterprise, such as our desire to hold on to monuments and remnants of the past during an era of great upheaval and uncertainty.2. How can the historical study of monuments and cityscapes document monuments destined for destruction, or recover their importance after they have been destroyed?3. Possible perspectives for reconstruction and restoration of historical monuments and city centers after armed conflict.4. The effects of disappearing historical fabric on the socio-cultural landscape, and the relationship between humanitarian aid and the preservation of historical monuments.5. How do current events in the Middle East affect the study of architecture, archaeology, and related fields in the region?Essays that focus on historical and theoretical analysis (DiT papers) should be a minimum of 5000 words but no more than 8000 words, and essays on design and practice or preservation (DiP papers) can range from 3500 to 4000 words. Contributions from practitioners are welcome and should bear in mind the critical framework of the journal. Contributions from scholars of anthropology, sociology, history, and preservation as well as scholars and critics of heritage and archaeology in the broadest sense are also particularly welcome.Please send your paper to the in-house editor for this special issue, Patricia Blessing (pdblessing@gmail.com), by 30 August 2015. All papers will undergo full peer review.For author instructions regarding paper guidelines, please consult: www.intellectbooks.com/ijia