Notions of heritage

Debates and reconfigurations of a concept

Abstract

The taste for the past usually manifests itself through a tendency to materialize the disappeared, the demolished content, for example, in constructions that still show features of a previous period or in traditions that bring together family and community gatherings to talk about other times and how things were practiced before. A trend that in many cases translates into a heritage cult
that seeks to rescue, protect and preserve cultural assets and practices. A process that has been increasing since the early 1980s and that has influenced the conceptualization, as well as the debate and reconfiguration on a global scale of what is meant by heritage. In this article, we will explore the notion of heritage that was structured throughout the twentieth century, and to date, from documents and debates circumscribed to the scope of the policies of international organizations such as IOM, ICOMOS, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. A structuring discourse that has
reconfigured the notion of heritage towards a heritage community, a key concept to be reviewed in the context of the city of Valparaíso, Chile, and in relation to the role of the University.