Abstract
Normally, given the mobility and variability of this subject, the concepts that help scholars in their analyses of cultural phenomena require constant updating and fresh reflection over the course of time. The planet changes, societies and people change, along with their needs, expectations and aspirations, and consequently, the interpretative paradigms must display a degree of ductility. For this reason, the current definition of Intangible Cultural Heritage can be seen as the result of a long process that has been informed by the debate unfolding in the anthropological sphere about the concepts of culture, folklore and tradition, which I will touch upon very briefly. This chapter is divided into two parts: in the first part, I seek to briefly illustrate the content of this debate and the positions adopted by some of the main authors involved; in the second, I look at UNESCO’s policies regarding the identification and safeguard of cultural heritage and the contribution of anthropological reflection to the definition of intangible heritage.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abu-Lughod, L. (1991). Writing against culture. In R. G. Fox (Ed.), Recapturing anthropology. Working in the present (pp. 137–162). School of American Research Press.
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large. Cultural dimensions of globalization. University of Minnesota Press.
Barth, F., Gingrich, A., Parkin, R., & Silverman, S. (2005). One discipline, four ways: British, German, French and American anthropology. Chicago University Press.
Bausinger, H. (1990). Folk culture in a word of technology. Indiana University Press.
Bortolotto, C. (Ed.). (2011). Le patrimoine culturel immatériel. Enjeux d’une nouvelle catégorie. La Maison des Sciences de l’Homme.
Buruma, I., & Margalit, A. (2004). Occidentalism. The West in the eyes of its enemies. The Penguin Press.
Fabian, J. (1983). Time and the other. How Anthropology makes its object. Columbia University Press.
Fox, R. G., & King, B. J. (Eds.) (2002). Anthropology beyond culture. .
Geertz, C. (2000). Available light. Anthropological reflections on philosophical topics. Princeton University Press.
Hobsbawm, E. J., & Ranger, T. (Eds.). (1983). The invention of tradition. Cambridge University Press.
Kohn, E. (2013). How forests Tink: Toward an anthropology beyond the human. University of California Press.
Le Courrier de l’Unesco. (2022). Laboratoire d’idées. Anthologie. Vol. I Penseurs, Vol. II Créateurs. UNESCO.
Lenclud, G. (1987). La tradition n’est plus ce qu’elle était. Sur la notion de “tradition” et de “societé traditionnelle” en ethnologie. Terrain, 9, 110–123.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (2001). Race et histoire. Race et culture. UNESCO.
Merton, A. (1846). Folk-Lore. The Athenæum. Journal of Literature, Science and Fine Arts, 982, 862–863.
Pérez de Cuéllar, J. (1996). Our creative diversity. UNESCO.
Pinton, S., & Zagato, L. (Eds.). (2017). Cultural Heritage. Scenarios 2015–2017. Ca’ Foscari.
Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
Trono, A., Ruppi, F., & Romano, S. (Eds.). (2015). Cultural heritage for the sustainable development of Mediterranean countries. Congedo.
Tylor, E. B. (1920). Primitive culture. Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, language, art, and custom. John Murray.
Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophische Untersuchungen: 1372. Suhrkamp Verlag AG.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Imbriani, E. (2024). Intangible Heritage: A Fluid Concept. In: Trono, A., Castronuovo, V., Kosmas, P. (eds) Managing Natural and Cultural Heritage for a Durable Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52041-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52041-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-52040-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-52041-9
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)