Professional or not? Thoughts on an example.

I recently heard a short description about an interpretive encounter that made me think again about the construction of heritage, the use of interpretation to represent that particular view of heritage, and the social structures that are expressed and recreated in doing so. The anecdote concerned a guided tour with a school group [1]. … Continue reading Professional or not? Thoughts on an example. →

Heritage Interpretation for the Future of Europe

After last month’s Interpret Europe conference on the topic, I have been pondering what the role of heritage interpretation is for the Future of Europe. This is not a review of the conference [1]; however, I want to share some of the questions and thoughts I’ve had. What future? The joke that Prof Dr … Continue reading Heritage Interpretation for the Future of Europe →

Thinking about Refugees, Heritage and Integration

Next month, I will represent ICOMOS ICIP at the Voices of Culture Structured Dialogue on the Inclusion of Refugees and Migrants through Culture. In preparation, the organisers have posed three questions [1] for each participant network to respond to. As I collated the response from ICIP’s network, it’s been really interesting to revisit the … Continue reading Thinking about Refugees, Heritage and Integration →

Not Love, Not Passion: Interpretation as a job

There is a tradition within interpretation that identifies having ‘love’ [1] or ‘passion’ [2] for heritage and/or for people as a desirable, if not necessary quality in interpreters. This goes beyond just a lively, engaging delivery. It is to genuinely ‘love the thing you interpret’, as well as the people who visit it [3]. For … Continue reading Not Love, Not Passion: Interpretation as a job →

Let’s give heritage some space

A project that I’m working on at the moment had me think again about how we conceptualise ‘heritage’, and how our particular concepts and approaches are fermented by funding processes and dare I say the industry that has evolved around them. The project is what we in the sector in the UK call ‘a … Continue reading Let’s give heritage some space →

Re-visiting Stonehenge, Or: Visitor Management Vs Experience

A few years ago, I visited Stonehenge for the first time. Like many others, I was shocked at the (then) lack of interpretation and facilities, and after circling the stones once (also an oddly disappointing experience), I set off with the dog to go on a hike through the landscape, totally unplanned, merely drifting along … Continue reading Re-visiting Stonehenge, Or: Visitor Management Vs Experience →

Richard III Revisited, or: Is this the heritage industry?

Last week, three high court judges dismissed an application for judicial review and thus paved the way for Richard III’s remains to be buried at Leicester Cathedral. There are three key things that strike me about this whole process. The Authorized Heritage Discourse at work The basis for the applicant’s claim (that they are relatives … Continue reading Richard III Revisited, or: Is this the heritage industry? →

Heritage and Healthy Societies Conference: Impressions

I spent last week at the Heritage and Healthy Societies Conference, hosted by the Center for Heritage & Society at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I tend to go to practitioners’ conferences, so this was great with its mostly academic focus on research. Here are a few impressions I brought home with me [1]: The … Continue reading Heritage and Healthy Societies Conference: Impressions →