This research examines the way in which people perceive heritage in living heritage places focusing on Greek traditional settlements. Despite the widely acknowledged idea of heritage as a social construct which may be understood via perceptions, our knowledge is still far from complete. The thesis particularly examines what is identified and valued as heritage, and why, and how conservation may affect these processes. It reveals that these are not three different aspects which can be explained through single independent factors alone, but they are interrelated forming people’s perceptions of heritage. The research indicates that the way in which people perceive heritage depends on a dynamic relationship across the identification, evaluation and conservation of heritage and on a multiplicity of influential factors behind these processes. Examining both experts’ and residents’ perceptions in six traditional settlements, the study indicates that heritage may be collectively and individually perceived, as evident through the similarities and differences among participants. The conceptual framework uses a qualitative perception-based approach in which the different aspects of perception are examined. It is found that this may contribute to the way in which perceptions of heritage may be examined in future research. In addition, the examination of both experts and residents’ perceptions adds to our incomplete knowledge about the extent to which these two groups understand the concept of heritage. This suggests that their distinction as often presented by other studies may be inadequate in explaining the way in which heritage is perceived. The study also addresses the gap between perceptions of heritage and perceptions of conservation, showing how conservation can affect the way in which lay people identify and value heritage. Overall, the thesis contributes rich empirical evidence to the conceptualisation of heritage as a social construct.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:678980 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Katapidi, Ioanna |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/85734/ |
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