Discourses of Heritage: Issues of Value and Ownership
Discourses of Heritage: Issues of Value and Ownership

Summary/Abstract: Ideas of value lie at the heart of heritage discourses. Discourses of value are therefore quite loud in heritage circles but theories of value are rarely addressed directly. Instead, we tend to focus on listing the types of value heritage may have. Similarly, there is very little engagement with ideas of ownership in heritage discourse, except to assert its ownership by communities or to oppose claims of private ownership by individuals. Discourses of property and ownership are therefore rare in heritage circles and we never admit that our claims of stewardship and custodianship are claims of ownership in disguise. This paper therefore offers alternative ways of thinking about and addressing these issues with a view to opening up debate on them.

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