Preserving cultural assets of others: Jewish heritage sites in Macedonian cities
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Abstract
Issues arise when trying to understand the motivation of policymakers to preserve the assets of cultures that do not belong to the mainstream population. Tunbridge and Ashworth's seminal study on ‘Dissonant Heritage’ and Bennett's developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS model) provide a basis to evaluate both the motivations and the existence of a cultural dissonance. As there is a growing worldwide trend towards preserving and developing Jewish heritage tourism (JHT) this study examines Jewish heritage sites in three Macedonian cities endowed with rich Jewish history. Unlike previous studies concentrating on the notion of dissonant heritage, this research focuses on the motivation for preserving such sites, an issue hardly tackled before. Previous studies suggested the prevalence of six possible motives: guilt, facing harsh history, emphasis on dark tourism, revival of a harmonious past, respect, and economic benefits. Data were obtained via face-to-face interviews conducted with policy-makers from central and local governments. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to determine the leading motives for preservation. The findings indicate that by establishing and maintaining Jewish Heritage sites, stakeholders reflect sentiments of respect and admiration for the perished Jewish community and a longing for the revival of an elusive harmonious past. The potential economic benefits and dark tourism surfaced only as minor motives. Practically, JH preservation is used to revive dialogue with a forgotten past that may also contribute to urban tourism development in the future. Conceptually, the interviews did not reveal any indication of heritage dissonance, a finding that stands in sharp contrast to the dissonant heritage theory.
Translated Abstract
本研究的目的是分析政策制定者保护非主流文化资产的动机。本文利用了坦布奇 (Tunbridge) 与艾斯伍斯 (Ashworth) 的经典研究⟪非和谐遗产⟫和贝纳特 (Bennett) 的⟪跨文化敏感度发展模型⟫评价了保护非主流文化遗产的动机和文化不协调现象的存在方式。随着全球范围内保护与开发犹太人遗产旅游趋势的快速发展, 本研究研究了三个马其顿城市的犹太人遗产场所, 这些遗产场所都具有丰富的犹太人历史内涵。与以往研究强调非主流遗产的概念有所不同, 本文重在研究保护这些场所的动机, 这个问题以前鲜有涉及。以往的研究表明以下六个动机普遍存在:原罪、面对艰难历史、强调黑暗旅游、再现和谐的过去、尊重犹太文化和经济利益。通过对中央与地方政策制定者进行面对面的访谈收集数据, 采用定量与定性的方法分析访谈数据以确定保护这些遗产场所的动机。结果表明, 通过建立和维护这些遗产场所, 利益相关者表达了尊重犹太人遗产场所的看法, 崇拜消亡的犹太人社区, 渴望重现一个难以寻觅的和谐的过去。获取潜在的经济收益和发展黑暗旅游只作为次要的动机出现。保护犹太人遗产在实务上是用来重现与一个被遗忘的过去进行对话, 可能有助于未来的城市旅游发展。在理论上这些访谈并没有揭示出任何遗产不和谐的迹象, 这个结果与非和谐遗产理论迥然不同。
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Volume/Issue
20(3)
Page Number / Article Number
549-572
DOI
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Link to article (paywalled), Preserving cultural assets of others: Jewish heritage sites in Macedonian cities
Bibliographic Information
Preserving cultural assets of others: Jewish heritage sites in Macedonian cities. 2018: 549-572. https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.1080/14616688.2017.1387811
