Heritage values in comparative perspective

This chapter asks what heritage is for; what it does in the world; and what those responsible for deciding what constitutes heritage and for looking after it feel that it provides to the culture and society on whose behalf they work. The chapter considers these issues in terms of a comparison between the generally dominant Western Anglophone (European, Australian and American) modes of thought on heritage, and those which apply in Asian countries. It has been suggested in the Anglophone literature that there is a distinctive Asian approach to heritage (Winter 2014) which provides Western scholars with an alternative to the dominant strands of heritage understanding in the world. Drawing especially on ideas of value as they relate to heritage and its uses, and recognising the essentially political nature of heritage, the chapter considers the treatment and purposes of heritage as represented by different traditions in the West and Asia. While able to identify differences between the two regions, it is also able to show that these are differences more of degree than kind, and that there is an element of convergence also at work. So, while there is in one sense a distinct Asian heritage trend, in another it is also representative of a pan-global phenomenon.