Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología

Antipod. Rev. Antropol. Arqueol | eISSN 2011-4273 | ISSN 1900-5407

The ‘Patrimonial Mirror’: Narcissistic Illusion or Multiple Reflections?

No. 12 (2011-01-01)
  • Laurajane Smith
https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda12.2011.04

Abstract

This paper argues that ‘heritage’ is not an object, place or intangible event, but rather it is a performance or cultural process concerned with negotiating, creating and re-creating cultural memories, values and meanings. This process is obscured by the Authorized Heritage Discourse (AHD). The paper critically analyses the AHD and draws on three case studies from England to illustrate some of the cultural work that the heritage performance undertakes.

Keywords: heritage, patrimony, authorized heritage discourse, memory, performance