Living Cultural Heritage: Capitalization and Valorization

Abstract

Countries that discovered one of the ways to survive in the new economic paradigm, whose outlines became evident in the second half of the twentieth century, is cultural production based on leisure time, cultural uniqueness, and economic creativity have begun to be interested in how to benefit from their cultural heritage as a resource and capital in a sustainable way. Thus, prevalent approaches that claim to be an important expense area in terms of resources spent for the protection, preservation, and transfer to future generations of cultural heritage elements have gradually ceased to be out of circulation. Instead, new approaches that actualize the potential of cultural heritage to contribute to local, regional and national economies have been substituted. As a result of this orientation, the extensive literature on the importance of living cultural heritage in terms of regional, regional, and national economic development was generated. However, enough progress has not been made yet in the development of methodologies, models, strategies, and policies that can be applied in the conversion of this cultural resource into economic value. Capitalization and valorization theories, practices, and processes can be evaluated to overcome this deficiency, which is also directly related to cultural heritage management. The fact that financial concepts and theories such as capitalization and valuation are discussed in areas that prioritize protection, conservation, and reproduction of cultural resources such as heritage studies is a result of the entanglement of cultural and economic value becoming more evident in the age of cultural and creative economy. Especially Bourdieu’s insights on the concept of capital, its forms, and transformation dynamics also provide an analysis framework for the issues related to the effective management of the valuation processes of living cultural heritage. In this study, first the argument that living cultural heritage is a form of “cultural capital” will be tried to be justified in various expansions regarding an interpretation framework produced specifically for the theory of capital, which is at the center of Bourdieu’s sociology. Then, various methodological, strategic, and political analyzes that can enable this cultural capital to be transformed into economic capital will be included. Finally, the study will be concluded by giving various evaluations on how the cultural creative industries can contribute to the conservation and sustainability of living cultural heritage and valorization.