Hidden in Plain Sight: Everyday Heritage in the Realms of the Authorised Discourses
摘要
Everyday heritage only recently surfaced as a term within Heritage Studies and remains relatively undefined. In this work, it is understood as mundane and non-authorised engagements with the past as part of daily life. This chapter explores its creation and experience by examining how ordinary people live with(in) officially listed historic buildings or neighbourhoods in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As such ‘alternative’ forms of heritage are seldom acknowledged within managerial practice, they remain hidden in plain sight. At best, this conjures parallel worlds which seldom overlap and where distinct notions of heritage co-exist. At worst, this exclusion induces discomfort, estrangement, antipathy, and loss of identity, often leading to the devaluation, decay, or loss of (tangible) heritage in the everyday. This chapter illuminates the clashing realities between the official and personal and discusses the consequences of disregarding everyday heritage. It argues that those ‘mundane’ forms of heritage need to be recognised (albeit not preserved) and that the impact of managerial practice on ordinary people should be addressed accordingly to create a more inclusive practice. Exploring everyday heritage in this context further emphasises the need to acknowledge heritage relationships that are not strictly marginalised—yet unheard and unseen—in the dominant discourses.