Showing papers on "Cultural heritage published in 1980"

The Cultural Heritage

Abstract: This chapter discusses the cultural heritage of the Europe. Europe is a great republic divided between several states. There is no longer a France, a Germany, a Spain, not even an English, there are only Europeans. Even today when the whole of Western Europe is in a ferment of educational reform, it is still possible in moving from country to country to be impressed not so much by the dissimilarities to be found between various educational practices as by the similarity between styles of education. There is an underlying unity of thought that everywhere has led to the enunciation of certain basic principles, which it is held must be followed as closely as possible in structuring any educational system. The Greeks first stressed the individual worth of persons and caused the implications of the Delphic utterance “Know Thyself to have the fullest significance.” As Europe stumbled through the Dark Ages, which followed the collapse of Rome, whatever education was available was exclusively in the hands of the church.

Indian Heritage Preservation and Archaeologists

Abstract: Indians and archaeologists have a unique relationship. Because of our fascination with Indian culture, archaeologists are interested in many of the things which are important to Indians, such as artifacts, village sites, burials, and other heritage materials. The reasons for our interest differ from those of Native Americans, but our overall goals sometimes overlap and are compatible, since we often want to see Indian sites and heritage materials preserved. We are also very much aware of the intrinsic value of the sites and their contents. As one archaeologist has put it: \"It is terribly important that the 'small things forgotten' be remembered. For in the seemingly little and insignificant things that accumulate to create a lifetime, the essence of our existence is captured\" (Deetz 1977:161). This unique relationship between archaeologists and Indians can forge strong research and preservation tools. Unfortunately, it can also lead to conflict, since this interest in the same cultural heritage is often accompanied by misunderstandings. With rare exceptions, positive working relationship have yet to develop between archaeologists and Indians. All too often the very same things that are treasured so highly have produced controversy. This paper discusses some of the ways that productive relationships can be developed. It also analyzes the sources of conflict. Both groups have far more to gain by working together than they have to lose.

Cultural resources: an old asset - a new market for tourism.

Abstract: Connotations of the 19th century "Grand Tour" of Europe still influence the travel profession's image of the relationship between culture and tourism namely, that cultural tourism is the province of Europe and the wealthy. U.S. tour operators have been far more active in incorporating cultural resources into trips for Americans to Europe than in promoting cultural resources within the United States for either the domestic or foreign traveller. Western concepts of cultural activities have been entrapped for centuries by notions about patronage based on the Medici model. The enduring misperception is that the arts survive on largesse alone, and that a loss in cultural activity implies a reduction in expenditures with little, if any, additional economic impact. An alternate assessment suggests that a cultural industry with demonstrable economic interdependencies and advantages has evolved officially overlooked by most policymakers. This industry encompasses profit and notprofit components of the arts, humanities, and historic preservation, and provides significant support to ancillary businesses and local tax structures. Now is a particularly opportune time for a major initiative to promote both domestic and international tourism to the United States with a specific focus on cultural resources. There has been an exponential growth of American activity and public interest in the arts, humanities, and historic preservation, which has contributed to and been reflected in the country's expanding international reputation for excellence in the arts. In addition, the United States has developed a unique quantity and quality of free outdoor programming during warm weather months. Even admission-based activities are still relatively inexpensive, a situation further reinforced on the international market by the current value of the dollar. All these elements combine to suggest a significant new market opportunity for tourism development: cultural resources. This paper juxtaposes trends and observations in American cultural and tourism development and suggests strengthened collaborative efforts between the two professions can foster mutually advantageous new markets. The term, "cultural resources", refers to profit and non-profit activities in the arts,

Changing Views on Historical Conservation in Cities

Abstract: Historic preservation has become a major force in urban development, urban planning, and city design. It has been propelled into the stream of political action, and controversy, because of a series of demographic, economic, and legal changes which have generated a "back-to-the-city" movement. This movement, although still highly selective in area, particularly affects older urban neighborhoods with distinctive architectural quality and downtown areas with a stock of old but distinctive buildings. The 1966 Historic Preservation Act, especially the provisions of Section 106, is comparable to the National Environmental Policy Act in its impact on redevelopment in built-up areas and in its requirement for environmental impact statements in natural settings. An expanded federal law calling for the inclusion of properties on the National Register of Historic Places and the creation of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation creates leverage for the nati...

The Wilderness Reader

Abstract: The relationship of wilderness to civilization has been a major preoccupation of poets and novelists from Bryant to Faulkner. The cultural heritage developed out of a great deal of philosophizing, romanticizing and fantasizing about the wilderness. But for all the enthusiasm that accompanied its conquest, we have not necessarily developed an appreciation for the actual phenomenon of wilderness itself - its trees, bogs, snakes, rocks, wolves and dirt.

Traditional Rural Houses Along the Missouri-Kansas Border

Abstract: I-houses and I-cottages predominate in the pre-1940 rural landscape along the Missouri-Kansas border, a region settled by people from different culture areas of the eastern United States. Cultural heritage explains part of the housing pattern, particularly the distributions of I-cottages and one-story bungalows, but for the most part, regional culture associations are not strong. The housing situation is understood better historically. To judge from various external indicators, local I-structures have been influenced by both the Georgian and the Gothic architectural traditions. More recent house types, although often not considered to be products of the folk tradition, nonetheless have traits that link them with this past. Using the construction of I-structures as a general measure, one can say that traditional architecture has been in decline since at least 1880 and that the rate of decline has accelerated through time.

Sub-Saharan Political and Economic Structures and the NIEO

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses sub-Saharan political and economic structures and the New International Economic Order (NIEO). When considering the political and socio-economic development of Africa south of the Sahara, there has been a marked tendency to see the colonial period of African history as the starting point of the development of the continent. This has obscured the fact that pre-colonial Africa had a long indigenous history of development as witnessed by the historical existence of the great trading kingdoms of the Sahara in the East and of Ghana and Mali in the West. Present-day African leadership is faced with the unique situation of being in a position to completely reconstruct new post-colonial societies based on autonomous political and socio-economic systems and replace the imported and apparently inadequate structures that were part of its colonial heritage. The success of these countries in implementing the strategies of NIEO will depend, to a large extent, on their success in achieving new institutional stability and in fashioning more effective indigenous structures of political and economic life, based on their traditional patterns of development and their cultural heritage.