intangible cultural heritage

Here’s the pilot episode! This episode’s main focus briefly discusses the ideology of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) concept as it pertains to the mandate of cultural heritage archiving and preservation methods through the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In my discussion I survey the history and scope of UNESCO and the push toward ICH after the 2003 Convention, and I note the power inequity between nation-state controlled preservation projects and the communities who create the acknowledged cultural heritage.

Along with today’s main focus in Episode 1, I highlight a recent art project of David Chavannes, and echo the voice of climate activist Vanessa Nakate who was mentioned in the news after outcries on social media over her omission from a report on Davos garnered broader attention.

Sources and Relevant Links:

Transcript

Retrospect: “Vanessa Nakate cropped from photo of climate activists at Davos”

Vanessa Nakate on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash

The Rise Up Movement: https://twitter.com/TheRiseUpMovem1

Highlight: “David Chavannes using sound and music to amplify voices and messages”

David’s website: http://www.dchavannes.com/

David’s soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dapacha

Main focus: “Intangible Cultural Heritage and cultural preservation through UNESCO”

UNESCO’s ICH Home: https://ich.unesco.org/

Lixinski, Lucas. 2011. “Selecting Heritage: The Interplay of Art, Politics and Identity.” European Journal of International Law, Volume 22, Issue 1, February. Pages 81–100. (https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chr001)

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Season 1 is underway

I’m well on my way to getting season one going; how exciting! By Friday expect to see the pilot episode both here and on anchor, and if not by Friday then within a short time you should see our podcast visible in your favorite/familiar podcasting platform. Anchor tells me it takes a couple of business days sometimes to show up for new/first episodes.

The first episode of this season will be an exploration of the concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) through the lens of representation. I’m beginning here, with cultural heritage, because this area is most closely related to my own research interests over the past few years. I’ve been interested in the gap between where culture is performed and where it is defined, and I think in our present world, media sits in the midst of that gap where it represents the primary mode of control over the articulation of “Culture,” broadly interpreted, and subsequently our (various communities’) connection to it. Whoever controls media is poised to control the apparent boundaries around what “Culture” is and how it is used to articulate identities and then inform social policies. The legacy of cultural heritage, then, becomes the byproduct of how its existence is imagined through media narratives.

A dive into this conversation and more will be part of the first podcast episode of this season. And if you’re interested in joining us on Patreon, you can be a part of the conversation there where you can subscribe to gain access to our discord community. Hope to meet you there!