ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 outlines the idea of the performative nature of heritage and responds to some of the dominant theoretical debates in critical heritage studies to define the conceptualisation of heritage used in this book. Critical realism is outlined as the philosophical basis of the research, and in responding critically to the influences of New Materialism and Post Humanism in heritage studies, I outline a pragmatic research agenda for critical heritage studies. The central argument of the chapter is that, fundamentally, heritage is about people and their social contexts.
