Heritage
studies
is the interdisciplinary investigation of the
relationship
between people and the representation, interpretation, and valuation of
the past with the goal of using this information toward a practical
end. "Heritage" is constructed from values and meanings derived
from social, cultural, and personal experience while "history"
represets objective facts as David Lowenthal and
others have explored.
Heritage studies, therefore, assumes that
values and
meanings are not innate characteristics of objects from the past; these
objects only become "historical" when people believe that they have
historical value. The goal of this site is to present heritage
studies from
the underrepresented perspective of landscape and built environment
practitioners and researchers,
such as historic preservationists / historic environment professionals,
architects, landscape architects, and regional/urban/town planners.
Old
Olinda,
Pernambuco, Brazil
