In its proclamation of 2001, UNESCO endorsed nineteen “masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage,” including, on the recommendation of Georgian ethnomusicologists and folk-song experts, Georgian polyphonic singing. #POLYPHONIC SONGS SERIES#In the opening years of the twenty-first century, as part of its effort to sustain cultural diversity and human creativity in the face of the perceived effects of globalization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a series of proclamations and conventions that took steps to address the issue of the protection of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. The article thus argues that, while the long-term nationalist cultural policies endorsing the primacy of Georgian traditional polyphony have found a new ideological endorsement within UNESCO’s discourse of culture, the reality of the country’s cultural life is not accommodated. By analyzing paradoxes and contradictions arising from UNESCO’s definitions of and action plans towards “intangible cultural heritage,” the article demonstrates that the features selected by UNESCO as characteristic of “intangible heritage”-oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social practices, and knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe-are also found in modern Georgian popular music genres such as pop, rock, and rap, though these genres are not viewed as cultural heritage. This article examines the effects of UNESCO’s 2001 proclamation of Georgian polyphonic song as a “masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage.” Related ideas about tradition and the safeguarding of traditional cultures are examined, as is the impact of globalization, its perceived threats and the opportunities it creates for cultural diversity, cultural exchange and dialogue.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |