CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Mohammed, Faisal |
|---|---|
| Title | The Richer the Better: Rethinking Heritage Interpretation in the Tengzug Cultural Landscape in Ghana |
| Summary | Interpretation of cultural landscapes offers tourists opportunities to absorb the nuances of heritage values both intellectually and physically, which also increases understanding and appreciation in the process. Interpretation of cultural landscapes is successful, all-encompassing, and meaningful when opportunities are negotiated through continued refining of diverse approaches that cater for the complexities and dynamism of specific cultural landscapes. Thus, communicating multifaceted heritage values is not, cannot, and should not be limited to a single communication channel, especially when the cultural landscape is in continual evolution. Yet, the Tengzug cultural landscape which I focus on in this case study, still favours monolithic ways of communicating its complex heritage values to tourists. The opportunities in the existing tourism initiative are rarely given attention, which, in effect, is gradually decreasing tourism potential. It is against this backdrop that this study aims to explore the present perceptions and experiences of stakeholders and contrast them with opportunities in an interdisciplinary framework mainly informed by heritage studies and landscape biography, in order to offer a more attractive and complex understanding of the characteristics of the Tengzug cultural landscape. The main methods of this study were semi-structured interviews and surveys, and they were analysed thematically and descriptively. The results of the study confirm the existence of potential opportunities in other forms of communication, including traditional knowledge systems, to enrich the existing interpretation. They also indicate that heritage interpretation in Tengzug needs to incorporate varied perspectives both within the landscape and from cultural heritage institutions in order to ensure attractive and complex heritage interpretation. The outcome of this study is a proposed interpretation plan devised on the basis of local experience and practice, enriched by new methodologies developed by heritage studies for all the stakeholders. |
| Supervisor | Catherine Szántó |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/mohammed_faisal.pdf |
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