SIEF Working Group on Cultural Heritage and Property
The categorization, political implementation as well as
instrumentalization of the realm of cultural heritage in the modern
‘glocalized’ world both in cultural politics and academia indicate an
expanding field in need of critical inquiry. Cultural heritage carries a
strong potential for the acquisition of sociopolitical capital but
renders also channels for economic resources. Consequently we witness
its increasing role in culture-orientated politics at various levels,
with particularly exploding resonance observable on the international
stage.
This working group proposes to focus on the position and meanings of
cultural heritage and cultural property on the different societal levels
in the modern world and its individual nation states. Attention will be
given to the politics of cultural heritage and especially to the
consequences of the (In-)tangible Heritage conventions (UNESCO 2003) and
the Intellectual Property conventions (WIPO), with consideration of all
other processes that are selecting, honoring and turning into property
what we call folklore or 'traditional cultural expressions’ and
'traditional knowledge’.
We call for the examination of the negotiated or contested relation
between tangible and intangible heritage from the perspective of
transnational organizations of cultural politics. Likewise, the marked
entanglement of sociopolitical processes with economic reverberations
propounds analyses on the repercussions of cultural heritage politics on
existing practices; the influence of tourism etc.
Chairs
Prof. Dr. Kristin Kuutma, Institute for Cultural Research and Fine Arts,
University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, Estonia. kristin.kuutma(at)ut.ee
Dr. Anita Vaivade: (Secretary), Latvian Academy of Culture, Ludzas 24,
Riga LV-1003, Latvia. anita.vaivade(at)lka.edu.lv
Board Members
Dr. Robert Baron, New York State Council on the Arts, 300 Park Ave., S,
10th Fl., New York City, New York 10010, United States of America. Robert.Baron(at)arts.ny.gov
Prof. Dr. Jurij Fikfak, Scientific Research Center, Slovenian Academy of
Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. fikfak(at)zrc-sazu.si
Dr. Helmut Groschwitz, Institut für Volkskunde (Institute for European
Ethnology), Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Barer Str. 13,
D-80333 München, Germany. groschwitz(at)volkskunde.badw.de
Carley Williams, PhD Researcher, Elphinstone Institute, University of
Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 5UA, United Kingdom. carley.williams(at)abdn.ac.uk