Heritage is a complex field of study that can be defined in various ways and may encompass different meanings in different contexts. Broadly, it refers to what we as human and cultural beings identify, acknowledge and bring with us from previous generations (see UNESCO video below). Still, cultural heritage is not about the past but about contemporary uses of the past (Graham et al., 2000). In this view, heritage refers to using selected aspects of past material or immaterial culture, be it artefacts, landscapes, memories or places, as cultural, political and economic resources in the present (Graham & Howard, 2008). 

UNESCO: The value of heritage (2016)

Emerging in the 1980s, the term "Critical heritage" has been used to define a specific field of inquiry questioning the established and sanctioned common view of heritage and why it is regarded as important. The focus of critical heritage studies has changed over time, and different strands of the concept have concentrated on different critical perspectives. Today, critical heritage perspectives include the notion of democratization of heritage processes and relativization of the dominating preservation paradigm influencing most heritage politics in Western society of the late 20th and early 21st century. Regarding democratization, arguments include criticism against the sanctioned heritage discourse proclaimed by, e.g. UNESCO as being too traditional, too Western-centered, and biased toward tangible heritage assets, with a selection of heritage assets directed from above and not from the local perspective. Relativizing perspectives argue that heritage is an enduring resource and that degeneration is a natural process. The preservation agenda is here called into question, arguing that in a choice between preservation and destruction, destruction can be acceptable or even preferable. 



Read Chapter 5 in Wienberg (2021), and reflect on relevant aspects of the statement "Heritage is everywhere" in relation to the canonical vs critical heritage approaches. Try out the quiz below and see what you've learned.

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REFERENCES

1. Graham, B., Ashworth, G. J. & Tunbridge, J. E. (2000) A Geography of Heritage: Power, Culture and Economy. London: Arnold
2. Graham, B. & Howard, P. 2008. Introduction: Heritage and identity. In: Graham, B & Howard, P (eds) The Ashgate Research Companion to Heritage and Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate
3. Wienberg, J. 2021. Heritopia: World heritage and modernity. Lund: Lund University Press.