Highbrow guides to historic sites rewritten to woo masses (UK)
English Heritage is to rewrite guides to its properties to ensure they can be understood by visitors with the reading age of a 10-year-old.
The government’s custodian of historic sites is to launch an intellectual audit of the 400 sites it manages following criticism that it is too high-brow and has not done enough to attract visitors from lower socioeconomic groups.
English Heritage, whose properties include Stonehenge and the site of the battle of Hastings, is to launch an “intellectual access” programme designed to knock down “intellectual barriers” — such as commentaries that assume prior knowledge of historic events.
It is to simplify explanatory material to ensure it does not exclude visitors who come from uneducated backgrounds.Complex phrases will be replaced by simple words, while references to historical figures and events will be explained so visitors with the reading age of a 10 or 11-year-old can understand them.
Read entire article at Times (UK)
The government’s custodian of historic sites is to launch an intellectual audit of the 400 sites it manages following criticism that it is too high-brow and has not done enough to attract visitors from lower socioeconomic groups.
English Heritage, whose properties include Stonehenge and the site of the battle of Hastings, is to launch an “intellectual access” programme designed to knock down “intellectual barriers” — such as commentaries that assume prior knowledge of historic events.
It is to simplify explanatory material to ensure it does not exclude visitors who come from uneducated backgrounds.Complex phrases will be replaced by simple words, while references to historical figures and events will be explained so visitors with the reading age of a 10 or 11-year-old can understand them.