TY - JOUR
KW - heritage
KW - UNESCO
KW - Morocco
KW - Intangible
KW - Marrakech
KW - Economic and social development (THE\_5342)
KW - Morocco (MA)
KW - Community participation (THE\_204)
KW - Unintended outcomes (ICH\_1362)
KW - Diminishing participation (ICH\_1242)
AU - Thomas Beardslee
AB - Since the 2001-2005 Proclamations of Masterpieces and the highly successful 2003 Convention, the UNESCO paradigms of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and safeguarding have become influential concepts in international, national and local cultural policy. But the thinking employed in the ICH model-where practitioners are bearers of reified, bounded heritage practices-neglects the lived realities of practitioners, ultimately safeguarding little and potentially exacerbating existing inequalities. While the ICH model contains promises of community empowerment, its actual execution can in fact disempower many, merely replicating existing inequalities in the new context of ICH management. While existing literature addresses the theoretical shortcomings of UNESCOs approach, the purpose of this article was to examine the ways in which they unfold in real life. As a practical case study, it is based on fieldwork among the performers at the Jemaa el Fnaa Square in Marrakech, a site addressed in the earliest rounds of the UNESCO ICH project. Using this case study, I discuss ways in which the issues of power inherent in the ICH paradigm have real consequences for those affected and implications for the success of the projects developed under its umbrella.
BT - International Journal of Heritage Studies
DA - feb
DO - 10.1080/13527258.2015.1037333
LA - English
M1 - 2
N1 - Publisher: Routledge
N2 - Since the 2001-2005 Proclamations of Masterpieces and the highly successful 2003 Convention, the UNESCO paradigms of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and safeguarding have become influential concepts in international, national and local cultural policy. But the thinking employed in the ICH model-where practitioners are bearers of reified, bounded heritage practices-neglects the lived realities of practitioners, ultimately safeguarding little and potentially exacerbating existing inequalities. While the ICH model contains promises of community empowerment, its actual execution can in fact disempower many, merely replicating existing inequalities in the new context of ICH management. While existing literature addresses the theoretical shortcomings of UNESCOs approach, the purpose of this article was to examine the ways in which they unfold in real life. As a practical case study, it is based on fieldwork among the performers at the Jemaa el Fnaa Square in Marrakech, a site addressed in the earliest rounds of the UNESCO ICH project. Using this case study, I discuss ways in which the issues of power inherent in the ICH paradigm have real consequences for those affected and implications for the success of the projects developed under its umbrella.
PY - 2016
SP - 89
EP - 101
T2 - International Journal of Heritage Studies
TI - Whom does heritage empower, and whom does it silence? Intangible cultural heritage at the Jemaa el Fnaa, Marrakech
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84959224680&doi=10.1080%2f13527258.2015.1037333&partnerID=40&md5=a1a3706697b83580747a87aeb4bd19a0
VL - 22
SN - 13527258 (ISSN)
ER -