While heritagization (a transformative and historically contingent process, by which historic artefacts and places turn into objects of display and exhibition) adds another layer of meaning to religious sites, making them hyper meaningful sites and self-aware of their wider values, they remain ritually effective without losing their religious significance. This new hybrid character sparks tensions between religious tradition and secular management strategies that often turn religious rituals into spectacles adapted to tourists’ taste, while it necessitates new codes of interaction, as pilgrims are often prevented from touching, kissing, burning incense and leaving offerings.
Alexis’ study deepens the understanding of the relationship between heritagization and religion, by providing an overview of the current state of research in this field, highlighting overlooked areas on issues of operational management, conservation, interpretation and policy planning.
The paper has been published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, a leading and cutting-edge international source for current research. The journal is compulsory reading for many academics, practitioners and students across a range of disciplines including heritage and museum studies, cultural geography, archaeology, history, and tourism.
Heritagization of religious sites: in search of visitor agency and the dialectics underlying heritage planning assemblages, Alexis Thouki’s new publication, is an open access article and is available to read online.
