Freeman Tilden
Freeman Tilden (August 22, 1883 – May 13, 1980) was one of the first people to set down the principles and theories of heritage interpretation in his 1957 book, Interpreting Our Heritage.
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Tilden was born in Malden, Massachusetts, and developed his writing skills as a newspaper reporter.[1]
His work with the United States National Park Service (NPS) inspired generations of interpreters across the world and continues to be a definitive text for the discipline. According to thematic interpretation expert, Sam H. Ham, Tilden's quotation on page 38 of Interpreting Our Heritage (which was taken from a US National Park Service administrative manual) has become one of the most cited phrases in the interpretation literature worldwide:
Through interpretation, understanding; through understanding, appreciation; through appreciation, protection.
Legacy
Tilden is the namesake for the NPS's annual Freeman Tilden Award, awarded regionally for excellence in interpretation.[2]
Works
- Second Wind: the Plain Truth About Going Back to the Land, 1917
- Khaki: How Tredick Got Into the War, 1918
- A World In Debt, 1936
- Interpreting Our Heritage, 1957
- The State Parks: their meaning in American life, 1962
- Following the Frontier With F. Jay Haynes, Pioneer Photographer Of the Old West, 1964
- The National Parks and What they mean to you and me, 1968
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References
- "National Park Service: Biography (Freeman Tilden)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- "Freeman Tilden Award - NPS Celebrates! (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
Further reading
- Tilden, Freeman (2007) [1957]. Interpreting our Heritage (4th ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469604886.
- Ham, S. (2009). "From Interpretation to Protection – Is There a Theoretical Basis?". Journal of Interpretation Research. 14 (2): 49–57. doi:10.1177/109258720901400204. S2CID 222111327.
External links
- Robinson, George. "Freeman Tilden, 1883–1980". National Park Service: The First 75 Years: Biographical Vignettes. National Park Service. Retrieved 14 July 2022.