Heritage as a Socio-Cultural Construct: Problems of Definition

Abstract

Along with the extremely rapid development of the scientific, techno-logical and social systems of society, the 20 th and 21 st centuries are also definitely characterised by a desire to preserve one's past and present day for future generations. the connection of our current society with heritage is not a simple belief, or an inevitable fact. Heritage is far from a fixed or objectively defined phenomenon, which is reflected in the lists of objects under protection. This is indicated by the fact that, today, the issue of values has become the focus for the treatment of heritage – this is especially remarkable at a time, when the world is faced with an economic crisis, as well as political and cultural instability in many regions, and extensive environmental changes. In this context, heritage can be part of the problem, as well as the solution – it all depends on how we use it. the utilisation of heritage primarily for the creation of national and communal identities, but also for state and transnational ones, inevitably connects it to questions related to politics and power. The management of heritage cannot be an undertaking that is separate from contemporary societal processes. It is unavoidably related to oth-er cultural, economic and political processes in society. However, the practical management of cultural heritage is impacted by the various interpretations and treatments of values. The objective of this article is to create a conceptual framework for dealing with the definition and management of heritage. Therefore, I DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12697/BJAH.2013.6.05 Translation by Juta Ristsoo 124 Kurmo Konsa will provide a survey of the approaches to heritage, by dividing it into three groups – heritage as a set of valuable objects; heritage as a part of the environment; and heritage as a socio-cultural construct. In this ar-ticle, I will focus on heritage based on the last meaning. I will use three dimensions for analysing the functioning of heritage, whereby, I will characterise heritage as a process taking place in society. based on the analysis of the concept of heritage and the processes for defining herit-age, I present some of the fundamental principles for the management of heritage in the article's concluding part. The examples related to the definition of heritage at various levels are based on the context of the Republic of Estonia.