A Review of the Concept of Authenticity in Heritage,with Particular Reference to Historic Houses

Abstract

The term “authenticity” is invoked frequently in heritage and related fields including tourism studies and philosophy. Setting the debate within a wider context of academia and heritage practice, this article explores the concept and takes the specific situation of historic houses to question what the meaning of the term may be and to test whether it has value. It considers who defines authenticity and discusses how it may be recognized in different contexts. It summarizes forms which have previously been defined, but it also brings together the often entirely separate debate of academics and the experience of practitioners. Recognizing that the term is employed across material culture, buildings, and places, it also explores the authenticity of experience, considering if, or how, engagement with heritage as curators, researchers, or visitors is authentic. Ultimately, it questions whether such a nebulous concept can ever be fixed or permanent and proposes instead that it should be recognized as a changing idea, dependent on situation and context, valuable perhaps primarily to those who also seek to define it.

Keywords

Heritage Authenticity Historic House Tourism Collections

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