古蹟保存作為歷史、傳統、與記憶在營造環境中的一種再現方式，長久以來都被用來界定特定在地社群的集體時空想像。保存的對象暗示了「想像社群」之集體文化認同，而以視覺的方式來訴說該社群的歷史，強化該社群成員對自己身份的共識。從這個角度來看，古蹟保存的功能往往具有高度的政治性。然而，當前經濟與文化全球化的持續進行，使得各地方之間的互動與依賴不斷地強化，而不同想像社群之間的界線似乎也越來越模糊了。如果說古蹟保存是一個與地方社群認同密切相關的事業，那麼在一個地方界線逐漸模糊的年代，古蹟保存的意義會是什麼？而就在這個全球化似乎即將泯滅各地方特殊文化與認同的世紀之交，臺灣才正要開始建立古蹟保存的價值、論述、與制度，我們如何理解這個特別的現象？在今天的全球化情境下，我們的古蹟保存大計又應建立在什麼樣的理論基礎上？它可能的社會與政治意義為何？它與都市發展的關係為何？基於對臺灣社會與空間現實的關切下，本文試圖發展一個分析全球化情境中古蹟保存政治過程的初步理論架構，希望能作為研究臺灣本地古蹟保存經驗以及擬定政策與運動方向的基礎。本文批判性地回顧了以下三個相關理論：第一、全球化情境與古蹟保存之間的關係；第二、古蹟保存與現代性的發展；第三、由法國理論家Michel Foucault所提出的「異質地方」概念。最後，經過對上述諸理論的回顧與重組後，本文將以樂生療養院保存運動作為分析對象，提出幾點對於臺灣當前古蹟保存政治的初步看法。

Historic preservation, the representation of the past, memories and traditions in the built environment, has long been an important planning instrument for defining the collective imagination of time and space of communities ranging in size from countries, to regions, to cities, to neighborhoods. The preserved objects usually imply the cultural identity of the “imagined community” and precisely who actually belongs to this community. In this sense, the function of historic preservation has been highly political and complex. However, the ongoing process of economic and cultural globalization has further complicated the politic of historic preservation in the contemporary world. As the interactions and interdependence between distant places increasingly become intensified, the boundaries between different imagined communities have gradually blurred. If historic preservation has historically been an enterprise relating to the formation of place identity, what are the possible meanings of historic preservation in an age in which boundaries between places are increasingly blurring? What are the relations between historic preservation and urban development in the era of globalization? What is the theoretical foundation for historic preservation projects of Taiwan, Where the enterprise of historic preservation is just burgeoning? Bearing in mind the development of Taiwan’s historic preservation policies and movements, I attempt to construct a theoretical framework that can better our understanding of contemporary politic of historic preservation in the globalizing cities. I have drawn upon three distinct literatures to build such a theoretical framework: 1. the debates of the functions of historic preservation in global cities; 2. the theories of the relations between historic preservation and modernity; 3. the concept of “heterotopia” coined by Michel Foucault. Finally, using the conceptual framework developed in this research, I have studied the preservation movement of Taiwan Provincial Leprosarium and offer some preliminary suggestions for the contemporary preservation politics in Taiwan.