Heritage Literacy: A Different Understanding of Heritage Management

Heritage management has traditionally been shaped by what Laurajane Smith termed the “authorized heritage discourse,” wherein a narrow group of professionals determines values and meanings on behalf of broader communities. This article argues that a more inclusive, socially responsible model of heritage management is both possible and necessary. Drawing on three convergent intellectual traditions—heritage interpretation as originally formulated by Freeman Tilden, eco-museums and the new museology born from the Santiago de Chile Round Table of 1972, and the human-rights-based framework for cultural heritage enshrined in the Council of Europe’s Faro Convention of 2005—the article proposes “heritage literacy” as a conceptual synthesis which can bridge these streams. Heritage literacy denotes a form of socially responsible heritage management that empowers citizens to understand the processes through which heritage is constructed, to participate actively in its interpretation, and to direct their own development through it. The article demonstrates that heritage literacy operates simultaneously as knowledge/wisdom management and as a democratic practice, arguing that it should be recognized as an essential dimension of (cultural/heritage-related) human rights. By tracing the theoretical genealogy of each contributing tradition and synthesizing them into a unified framework, this article offers both a conceptual contribution to heritage studies and a practical orientation for heritage professionals and policymakers seeking to move beyond top–down models of heritage governance.