Current Reading List

This current reading list represents research I am doing for a paper on intangible heritage. When is non-Indigenous intervention necessary for conservation? When does symbolic ritual behaviour cross the line from spirituality and enter the realm of heritage erasure? In circumstances where states have theocratic government systems which do not preserve minority or indigenous sites I believe UNESCO and The United Nations have an obligation to intervene. The occupying Islamic Regime of Iran just recently burned the Grand Bazaar of Rasht down. Food is UNESCO recognized for its cultural heritage in Rasht. The attack on Rasht’s market is nothing short of a terroristic attack aimed at instilling fear into civilians while directly targeting cultural heritage. In Afghanistan, we have seen the Taliban destroy the great Buddha of Bamiyan. Or in Iraq where we’ve seen ISIS destroying artefacts, monuments, and heritage belonging to Babylonian era, pre-Islamic, peoples. In contrast, there are also circumstances of behaviours that may set back or harm preservation but do respect the intended upkeep or cultural practice of items. I have seen examples of this come up in conservation literature which explored the behaviours of the First Nations of British Columbia who dip baskets in water for purification. Although harmful to preservation, the intended purpose is not erasure, rather symbolic respect. This is where the line should be drawn, and in an effort to conserve archaeology under theocratic extremists, preservation involves intervention.

Some sources I am exploring:

• Intangible Heritage Edited by Laurajane Smith and Natsuko Akagawa http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/34565/1/7%20pdf.pdf

• Intangible heritage tourism and identity by Miguel Vidal González https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517707001513?casa_token=xOCxEdwSJDgAAAAA:0i5l27KvehkB6UyTPT8RR_2R62xiqeExlBtajZKW62X8SWJ8_ZTXLlOoBEpR-ALS-4Pkud6F

• Intangible Heritage and Intellectual Property: challenges and future prospects

  by Wend Wendland https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1350-0775.2004.00463.x

• Culture in Crisis: Preserving Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones https://www.amazon.ca/Culture-Crisis-Preserving-Cultural-Heritage/dp/154278624X

• From Objects to Processes: UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” by Chiara Bortolotto https://www.jstor.org/stable/40793837