Future challenges for Australian and world interpretive methodology

Abstract

When Tilden wrote his book Heritage Interpretation in 1957 he could never have imagined the full extent of socio‐ecological challenges that would be facing humanity at the millennial dawn.This paper defines nine suggested challenge areas for world heritage interpretation and some of the issues that must be urgently addressed if interpretation is to remain a positive force for the survival of humanity and ecological systems.     

An Aegean Fire-Stand from Tel Nagila

Abstract

In this short paper we present a detailed study of a unique ceramic vessel fragment that was found in the excavations at Tel Nagila. The interpretation of this fragment as an Aegean fire-stand has implications for our understanding of the origin and development of Philistine material culture in Iron Age Philistia.     

Situated Creativity: A Way out of the Impasse of the Heidegger-Cassirer Debate

Summary

This paper criticizes the dualism of “thrownness” and “spontaneity” in Peter Gordon's interpretation of the Heidegger-Cassirer debate and shows that American pragmatism and other currents of thought offer an alternative in the form of a conception of situated creativity.     

Tu m'as repondu

ABSTRACT

Literal biblical interpretation advocates the view that at the outset of the paradise story Adam and Eve were only banned to eat of the tree of knowledge. The present paper challenges this view through an economic, ra-tional choice interpretation and the application of a self-interested decision calculus (model of economic man). I mount the thesis that, on grounds of a rational choice reconstruction, Adam and Eve must have been implicitly banned from the outset not to eat of the tree of life, despite no explicit ban be-ing stated in Genesis. The paper argues for the validity and insightfulness of such a rational choice analysis of the paradise story, which considerably clari-fies the conceptual logic and structure of the Eden story.     

Teaching visualised geographies: towards a methodology for the interpretation of visual materials

Abstract

This paper suggests a number of questions which can be used to structure a small‐group discussion about the interpretation of visual images. As many geographers now are demonstrating, geographical knowledges are very often visualised. However, there is currently little on offer methodologically to help students approach the interpretation of visual images critically. This paper hopes to start to remedy this situation. It begins by sketching a theoretical understanding of the meanings of visual images. It then suggests a number of questions that flow from that understanding, which can be addressed to a particular visual image in order to facilitate a discussion about its possible meanings.     

Management Plans for Archaeological Sites: A World Heritage Template

Abstract

A failed attempt to produce a Management Manual for World Heritage Archaeological Sites and Monuments brought together a body of experts in 2002 at Ma'agan, Israel. This paper aims to make the general recommendations of the Ma'agan meeting more widely known among those concerned with the management of archaeological sites. The paper summarizes the outcomes of the meeting, including ideas on the structure of a management plan, the planning process, team building and public participation, site significance, conservation, monitoring, maintenance, presentation and interpretation, tourism and action plans; and includes a select bibliography.     

Understanding the Carbonization and Preservation of Sunflower and Sumpweed Remains

Abstract

In this paper, I describe important chemical and physical properties of carbonized sunflower and sumpweed achenes and examine how those properties influence both the preservation and interpretation of these remains. Specifically, I designed a series of laboratory experiments to understand better the changes in chemical composition associated with the carbonization of achenes and to evaluate more thoroughly the use of measurements as a method to identify morphological changes linked with domestication. I also discuss how other factors, including the natural environment and processing technologies, may affect achene size and preservation.     

Making an Edgier Interpretation of the Gold Rushes: Contrasting Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand

This article examines the interaction between changing interpretations of history and visitor interpretation provided at heritage tourist sites. Generally, the literature distinguishes between history (which is seen as objective and fixed) and heritage interpretation (which is characterised as biased, selective and serving parochial interests). It is argued that history is actually far more dynamic and subjective and that this requires an ongoing revision of interpretation for visitors as historical interpretations change. To illustrate these processes, Goodman's concept of a new ‘edgier history of Gold’ is applied to interpretation at Sovereign Hill and the Mount Alexander Diggings in Australia and the Central Otago Heritage Trail in New Zealand.     

‘St Peter in Volders’ and related base metal figurines resembling the famous statue in the Vatican Basilica

Abstract

The reappraisal of an old find from Volders near Innsbruck, Austria, prompted new research on a group of base-metal statuettes that are miniature copies of the famous bronze statue of St Peter in the Vatican Basilica in Rome. Their age has been the subject of debate. This paper examined several examples of such statuettes to solve the issue with the help of archaeometric analysis. The analysis of the manufacturing technique and alloy composition provided important clues on the dating of the statuettes and allowed the historical interpretation of the group as a whole.     

The Texture of Heritage: A Reading of the 750th Anniversary of Stockholm1

This paper employs Henri Lefebvre's term ‘texture’ as a means of analysing a series of events that took place in June 2002 to mark the 750th anniversary of Sweden's capital city. The resulting case study demonstrates that heritage is the present‐day use of the past and that selection and interpretation shift according to contemporary demands. The latter prompts a continuing series of ‘particular actions’ (Lefebvre) that require explaining and elucidating to new audiences in fresh contexts. This provides heritage with its impetus whilst also accounting not only for its range and reach but also for its richness as a source of study.     

Adventures in happy land

Abstract

Interpretation proved to be a key to the successful outcome of three overseas aid projects in Asia and the Pacific. In Vanuatu, interpretation games were used to interest and involve local villagers in writing a management plan to protected a recently protected Pacific Kauri (Agathis macrophylla.) forest. The rapid establishment of national parks in Indonesia required staff to be trained in a variety of disciplines including interpretation. Park interpretation manuals were also written. Small scale tourism ventures in Fiji, where locals are the interpreters, are part of a management plan to protect a private forest park forest from logging.     

Superstitionis Malleus: John Toland,Cicero, and the War on Priestcraft in Early Enlightenment England

Summary

This paper explores the role of the Ciceronian tradition in the radical religious discourse of John Toland (1670–1722). Toland produced numerous works seeking to challenge the authority of the clergy, condemning their ‘priestcraft’ as a significant threat to the integrity of the Commonwealth. Throughout these anticlerical writings, Toland repeatedly invoked Cicero as an enemy to superstition and as a religious sceptic, particularly citing the theological dialogues De Natura Deorum and De Divinatione. This paper argues that Toland adapted the Ciceronian tradition so that it could function as an active influence on the construction of his radical discourse. First, it shows that Toland championed a particular interpretation of Cicero's works which legitimised his use of Cicero in this rational context. Then, it shows the practical manifestations of this interpretation, examining the ramifications for how Toland formed three important facets of his campaign against priestcraft: his identification of priestcraft as a superstition; his argument for a rational religion in which priestcraft could play no role; and his portrayal of anticlericalism as a service to the Commonwealth.     

JFK and dark tourism: A fascination with assassination

Abstract

This paper sets out to explore the phenomenon that the authors have entitled Dark Tourism and to analyse evidence of its existence in the context of sites associated with the life and death of the former US President, John F. Kennedy (JFK). These sites present front‐line staff, curators, and development bodies with dilemmas concerning legitimacy of presentation/representation and lead to questions about the, often cited, educational mission, of such attractions. The media has had a central role in the development of this phenomenon and documentation and illustration via news and film has been central to much of the interpretation of JFK and the Kennedys. This paper considers media fascination with this subject and examines exploitation of this interest at three, contrasting sites.     

Post-Medieval Britain in 1975

Abstract

The various methods and tools used by the post-medieval, leather-producing craftsmen are discussed in order to assist identification and interpretation of archaeological finds. The importance of the leather-making industries to Northamptonshire is examined.¹ Based on a lecture given at the Spring Conference of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology at Northampton in April 1980.     

The challenges facing forest interpretation

Abstract

The article examines the development of forestry interpretation programmes in Cumberland State Park, near Sydney, Australia. The programme seeks to conserve the environmental resources by raising community awareness of the issues. The aim is to empower the greater community to take responsibility for its own actions and its effect on the environment.     

From the Holiday to the Academy: Implications for physical geography in higher education arising from 'popular' field-based geography in Dorset

The popularity of physical geography at all levels of formal education is declining. This paper argues that a key factor in the decline may be the disparity between geographies studied within formal education and the popular geographies encountered during leisure pursuit. Through the example of the Jurassic Coast Project, an initiative for the interpretation of Dorset's coastal landscape, approaches towards the integration of popular and academic geographies are explored. Drawing explicit links between popular experiences and academic knowledge may benefit physical geography, improving its status amongst public and student audiences, and addressing the concerns that surround its decline within higher education.     

Mitterrand’s Europe: functions and limits of ‘European solidarity’ in French policy during the 1980s

Abstract

This paper explores the conceptualization and interpretation of ‘European solidarity’ by the French President François Mitterrand. It discusses the relevance of former concepts of foreign and European policy. It differentiates between a European idea and European institutions, also taking into account personal experiences. Finally, it analyses the correlation between different concepts such as ‘European solidarity’, ‘transatlantic solidarity’, ‘West European solidarity’ and ‘pan-European solidarity’.     

Byzantium in Dark-Age Greece (the numismatic evidence in its Balkan context)

Abstract

Much has been made of the presence or absence of seventh- and eighth-century coins on several sites in Greece, primarily in Athens and Corinth. Kenneth Sefton and Peter Charanis have paved the way for a cultural-historical interpretation of coin finds, but a thorough comparison of both single and hoard finds from Greece with others from the Balkans suggests a very different interpretation. Instead of signalising decline, low-denomination coins, especially from Athens, may point to local markets of low-value commodities, such as food, as well as to the permanent presence of the fleet.     

Atavistic Novelty: Questioning Hannah Arendt’s Understanding of Totalitarianism

ABSTRACT

This article offers a critique of Hannah Arendt’s interpretation of totalitarianism as formulated in her magnum opus—The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). It argues that, to comprehend totalitarianism, Arendt forged a heterodox method of historical analysis. Employing that method, she conceived totalitarianism as a form of transcendence of historical context. In doing so, however, she ignored crucial historical contexts that were in fact related to the history of totalitarianism. Subverting her interpretation of totalitarianism as transcendence, these elided contexts erupted inadvertently and repeatedly into her analysis—revealing that totalitarianism was solidly embedded in them. The Origins of Totalitarianism thus exhibits a conceptual contradiction that confuses its attempt to understand totalitarianism.