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Heritage and Authenticity

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The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research

Abstract

The heritage crusade, as Lowenthal (2003) called it, is inextricably linked to an authenticity craze. Authenticity in heritage has been sought, tested, praised, critiqued and denied from the perspectives of art, architecture, landscape, anthropology, archaeology, tourism, museums and other fields. In a popular book, The Authenticity Hoax (2010), Andrew Potter observed that ‘authenticity is a contrastive term’ and ‘is something people definitely want. That is, when something is described as “authentic”, what is invariably meant is that it is a Good Thing’ (2010, p. 6). Though some argue that profitable discussion of authenticity has reached its end, I believe that the concept remains vitally important, albeit changed from earlier understandings.

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Authors
  1. Helaine Silverman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Western Sydney, Australia

    Emma Waterton (Associate Professor) (Associate Professor)

  2. York St John University, UK

    Steve Watson (Professor) (Professor)

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© 2015 Helaine Silverman

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Silverman, H. (2015). Heritage and Authenticity. In: Waterton, E., Watson, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137293565_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137293565_5

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-45123-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-29356-5

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