Abstract

The article focuses on the phenomenon of myth, which cannot be seen and may not even exist based on empirical evidence, although it can function as a long-lasting wave inceptor, as demonstrated in numerous cases in history. The singular presence of myth has no linear time, and the way to approach the concealed mythic meaning that is beyond tales, oral traditions or ritual practices is based on language and narrative. Narrative is how myth manifests itself in the temporal layers of discourse through collective decision-making processes within cultures and in places. The urban cultural heritage seems to be a promising source of understanding of what sort of narrative history has been telling. We emphasize that the closest possible approach to the permanence of myth lies in this subtle between-epoch or between-generational moment wherein the discourse alters. The hermeneutics of repetition within alteration processes is what could be called the narrative of cultural heritage in towns and cities. Development of the physical heritage properties has been touched by a variety of agents, and therefore it must have gathered a nearly unlimited amount of explicit and implicit knowledge. The research further demonstrates how the myth–narrative–discourse interaction affects our understanding of the authenticity of heritage objects, shifting towards a permanent pervading authenticity which could be intensive or extensive in the tangible realm. The case of Šiluva is discussed in order to explain how myth can be used practically in placemaking.

Highlights

  • Facing the impacts of climate change and its consequences, not to mention the various impacts of COVID-19 on lifestyles in contemporary and future societies, we need to introduce new ways to preserve the main virtues of humanism par excellence

  • Claiming that a cultural continuum has a logic that is different from the logic of discourses or epochs, we introduce narrative as an intermediary phenomenon that binds all the differences occurring in cultural space–time into one logically perceived tale

  • The authenticity of the physical state of property or the appearance of the set of properties might be crucial for heritage, as a phenomenon to carry the narrative from the mythic meta-reality to our lived corporeal discourses

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Facing the impacts of climate change and its consequences, not to mention the various impacts of COVID-19 on lifestyles in contemporary and future societies, we need to introduce new ways to preserve the main virtues of humanism par excellence. Many authors have claimed that urban entities are living organisms that tell stories [1,2]. We suggest that living is not enough in this case, and that urban entities need to become conscious. For this reason, we introduce theoretical suggestions for stepping forward towards a state of swarm intelligence within and outside the city and the story it provides. We state that the cultural heritage field, introduced in the light of a narrative-based approach, may give clues on how to use the resources of past events and urbanscapes as the language guiding mankind towards the development of swarm intelligence for future needs. In the last part of the paper, the case of Šiluva, a small town in Lithuania, is presented as a place-making strategy using a myth–narrative–discourse triadic perception

The Notion of Myth
Epochal Action within Myth
Narrative of Urban and Architectural Heritage
Pervasiveness of Authenticity
Time Flow
Metaphysical Presence in Šiluva
Use of Metaphysics in Place-Making Strategies
Eschatology as Meta-Aim
Chapel the Apparition of Saint
Practical Tools and Implementations
Conclusions
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call