6th year Colegio Ward Spano Lucio Mateo

The substantial difference

between cultural appreciation
and cultural appropriation
Key points and information given in order to help you being more respectful
and wise.

“Heritage is the cultural legacy which we receive from the past, which we live
in the present and which we will pass on to future generations.” 1

If I ask you, what do you think about museums or maybe about costume parties you might
think they are just common things to do or to visit but you may not have thought that behind
these kinds of things there are some global and social issues that we have been omitting for
many many years.

This essay has no persuasion intentions but informative, but I cannot resist to be a little
personal by stating this: The difference between appropriation and appreciation is
on the intention and background. Respect is the key.

We all, or most of us, have at least once visited a museum. Have you ever thought how many
of those articles ended up there? That is an interesting question and a spicy one since many of
the most valuable articles in the most famous museums are nothing but stolen.

Appropriation by Cambridge is the act of taking something for your own use, usually
without permission or the act of taking something such as an idea, custom, or
style from a group or culture that you are not a member of and using it
yourself.2

The theft museum regularly known as the British museum is one, or maybe, the most
controversial museum due to the fact that many of the articles there are said to be stolen.
England was a colonial power that ravaged with everything they could, so it is not strange that
they stole many valuable and precious thing from other countries and cultures. The best
example is the Parthenon sculptures long claimed by Greece. It is the same with Egypt, but
fortunately the best is still in their country but not everything...

1 https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/santiago/cultura/patrimonio
2 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/appropriation
In fact when we talk about cultural appropriation it is nothing else than the result of empires
and colonialism. Through the history we were able to see how big powers imposed their
cultures and murdered many others.

On the other hand, the fact that common people can visit and see all those beautiful and
historical articles is very positive for the world, but the way they were appropriated was
questionable. So, there is a dilemma whether those articles should have been kept in the places
they come from, away from people or taken by the hard hand and making them accessible to
people.

Appreciation, by Cambridge, is the act of recognizing or understanding that

something is valuable.3

Not all museums are as the one I have already described, there are many local and big
museums that contains unique articles and information about culture and historical facts of
the place you are visiting or want to know about, for example, the “CASA HISTÓRICA. MUSEO
NACIONAL DE LA INDEPENDENCIA” in San Miguel de Tucumán in Argentina. This
example I believe is good because it represents a lot of the Argentinian history and culture,
respecting the place and the infrastructure.

“The notion of heritage is important for culture and the future because it
constitutes the “cultural potential” of contemporary societies, contributes to
the continuous revaluation of cultures and identities and is an important
vehicle for the transmission of experiences, skills and knowledge between
generations. Furthermore, heritage is a source of inspiration for creativity and
innovation that generate contemporary and future cultural products. Cultural
heritage has the potential to promote access to and enjoyment of cultural
diversity. It can also enrich social capital and create a sense of individual and
collective belonging, which helps to maintain social and territorial cohesion.”4

Regarding everything discussed I hardly believe that the difference between appropriation and
appreciation relies on the way something is done. It is insignificant to use typical clothes of a
culture as a costume for a party, in my opinion it relies on the background of each person and
not to do it from ignorance and disrespect. Education and personal values are the key to make
this world a better place.

3 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/appreciation
4 https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/santiago/cultura/patrimonio

2
Sources and bibliography:
1. https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/santiago/cultura/patrimonio
2. https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/#Article11.4
3. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/