TY - JOUR
KW - Social practices
KW - Community participation (THE\_204)
KW - rituals and festive events (ICH\_1229)
KW - Minority groups (THE\_1697)
KW - Türkiye (TR)
AU - B. Aykan
AB - This article addresses the shortcomings of UNESCO s intangible heritage program in developing effective mechanisms for community participation in heritage management. Contrary to its original intentions, by prioritizing national perspectives and interests on heritage, UNESCO s program inadvertently allows for strengthening the control of the state over the heritage of minorities and other marginalized groups. This article explores the complexities of state-led intangible heritage management, using the Semah ritual of Turkey s Alevi religious groups as a case in point. I first detail how Alevi voices were silenced during Semah s intangible heritage nomination process, despite those documents submitted by Turkey to UNESCO that claim Alevis  active engagement and full support. Then I discuss in what ways the heritage making of Semah plays into the ongoing efforts of the Turkish government to integrate Alevis into dominant Sunni majority. I conclude by arguing that UNESCO s intangible heritage program, though unintentionally, assists nondemocratic countries in their efforts to force marginalized groups to adopt the mainstream culture.
BT - International Journal of Cultural Property
DO - 10.1017/S0940739113000180
LA - English
M1 - 4
N1 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press
N2 - This article addresses the shortcomings of UNESCO s intangible heritage program in developing effective mechanisms for community participation in heritage management. Contrary to its original intentions, by prioritizing national perspectives and interests on heritage, UNESCO s program inadvertently allows for strengthening the control of the state over the heritage of minorities and other marginalized groups. This article explores the complexities of state-led intangible heritage management, using the Semah ritual of Turkey s Alevi religious groups as a case in point. I first detail how Alevi voices were silenced during Semah s intangible heritage nomination process, despite those documents submitted by Turkey to UNESCO that claim Alevis  active engagement and full support. Then I discuss in what ways the heritage making of Semah plays into the ongoing efforts of the Turkish government to integrate Alevis into dominant Sunni majority. I conclude by arguing that UNESCO s intangible heritage program, though unintentionally, assists nondemocratic countries in their efforts to force marginalized groups to adopt the mainstream culture.
PY - 2013
SP - 381
EP - 405
T2 - International Journal of Cultural Property
TI - How participatory is participatory heritage management? the politics of safeguarding the Alevi Semah ritual as intangible heritage
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84907418977&doi=10.1017%2fS0940739113000180&partnerID=40&md5=f60ab7117fc3b9409c7acc7390e4df33
VL - 20
SN - 09407391 (ISSN)
ER -