Thesis outline

It has to be noted that understanding the recognition and interpretation of intangible heritage in World Heritage requires an understanding of intangible heritage. The author did not want to limit herself to one interpretation of the term but explore the complexity of the phenomenon from a conceptual and historical perspective. Researching the concept of intangible heritage therefore preceded the analysis of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. A historical perspective enabled the carving out of possible stimuli coming from the intangible heritage movement. The presentation of results reflects this research process. To give credit to the richness of data and complexity of the two phenomena, results are presented in two distinct chapters. The discussion of results, which identifies important markers and considers stimuli coming from the intangible movement, is then presented in the conclusion. The ambitious scope certainly leads to limitations of this research, which will be addressed later in this chapter as well as in the methodology chapter and conclusion. In the following, the content of each chapter is briefly summarized.

Chapter two not only presents the critical literature review, but also provides insight and knowledge from the subject area. First, it portrays conceptual changes in the research context, that is, in international cultural heritage conservation. A shift has taken place beyond tangible to consider intangible heritage and beyond universal to recognize representative value. The 1972 and 2003 Conventions exemplify this shift. Second, the knowledge gap is identified which aims at deepening the understanding of the research problem and justifying the research question. It builds on World Heritage-related literature and the intersection between intangible heritage and World Cultural Heritage in terms of portraying a historical development, various interpretations of intangible heritage in World Heritage concepts and the intersection between World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage as defined in the 2003 Convention. For the most part, the existing sources do not build on each other so that information is fragmented. In addition, intangible heritage is often not theorized and there is

no coherent understanding of it. And third, the chapter presents possible methods from other, similar research in the subject area to provide a basis for its own methodological choices. Doctoral theses with a similar scope of looking at the international conceptual and operational level of the 1972 Convention provide inspiration for choosing an appropriate research approach and methods as well as for the use of cases, that is, nominations and inscriptions to the World Heritage List. Historical and qualitative approaches and methods are favored. Cases are used differently, ranging from an adaptation of case studies to illustrative examples.

In chapter three the thesis’ methodology is set out. It describes choices made concerning the research paradigm, research approach, and research strategy. Knowledge in terms of research findings is constructed and documents analyzed using interpretative techniques. Historical and qualitative research aim at obtaining an information-rich description. As mentioned previously, the specific research strategy has three steps: the theorization of intangible heritage in a first step, the analysis of the recognition and interpretation of intangible heritage in the context of implementing the World Heritage Convention in a second, and the discussion of results and highlighting of ideas and markers in a third and last step. Then, the use of concepts, that is, of intangible heritage and World Cultural Heritage, and illustrative examples is explained. While the concept of intangible heritage serves as a theoretical lens, the concept of World Cultural Heritage represents the main object of study within which change is traced. Illustrative examples, that is, World Heritage nominations and inscriptions, serve to support the portrayal of specific events, interpretations, or arguments. And finally, the data collection and analysis methods are presented. Texts are the main means of data collection. The thesis distinguishes between literature, documents, and grey zone literature. The notion of heritage discourse is used to organize the material. The World Heritage discourse is defined as being characterized by a general debate among its main actors, definitions that are stipulated in the Convention text and the various versions of the Operational Guidelines, as well as the interpretation of concepts through inscription and the adoption of value statements. Finally, a text-based analysis method, that is, historical method is established to be the essential means to analyze data and

obtain research findings. It allows for the writing of a story to explore the crossover from and intersection between intangible heritage and World Cultural Heritage.

In the fourth chapter, the theorization of intangible heritage is presented as a theoretical framework or lens. First, the concept of intangible heritage is deconstructed historically and conceptually in relation to international cultural heritage conservation. Five time periods are identified that speak of a growing recognition in the UNESCO, the ICOMOS, and the scientific discourses, with an anthropological shift in the late 1980s and early 1990s and a peak in recognizing intangible heritage in the early 2000s. Second, various interpretations of intangible heritage are portrayed to gain a comprehension of the complexity of the concept. Terms used to describe intangible heritage are, amongst others, associative value, memory, traditional knowledge, practices, and spirituality. Third, the concept of heritage value is analyzed. A historical perspective on the changing role and definition of heritage value reveals a shift beyond a focus on the conservation of the material fabric to values-based conservation. Two perspectives exist on the nature of heritage value. While the idea of intrinsic value is linked to the materiality of place and can therefore be interpreted to be universal, extrinsic value is dependent on human beings who give meaning to heritage. In this case, value becomes relative and representative of a specific context. Moreover, value classifications and pertinent value types were investigated, including historical, scientific, artistic, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological, and social value. A shift is noted beyond a past-oriented interpretation to consider present-day values. And fourth, based on the results of the previous subchapters, intangible heritage is theorized taking into account the concepts of tangible heritage, heritage value, and cultural heritage. The increasing recognition of intangible heritage is linked to an anthropological shift in international cultural heritage conservation which is characterized by the introduction of the human component into the theorization of cultural heritage as well as heritage value. At the basis of this shift lies a change in conceiving knowledge and reality. It is thus demonstrated that intangible heritage functions as an indicator for a paradigm shift. In addition, intangible heritage is viewed as an approach to defining cultural heritage that goes beyond the dichotomy of the tangible and the

intangible. It thus provides a conceptual frame for drawing an inclusive picture of cultural heritage. In its context, the concept of intangible heritage takes on different meanings. It refers to the values that people ascribe to heritage places, which are inherently intangible, as well as to attributes of sites such as associated knowledge or traditions.

Chapter five shows the recognition and interpretation of intangible heritage in the context of implementing the concept of World Cultural Heritage. It presents the research findings that answer the research question in a descriptive way. A large number of statutory documents were analyzed for this purpose. The chapter draws also on existing literature and establishes an understanding of World Heritage as tangible heritage is its context. It is structured first of all chronologically and according to the four concepts that constitute the study object of World Cultural Heritage, that is, cultural heritage, Outstanding Universal Value, the criteria to assess the Outstanding Universal Value of cultural heritage, and authenticity. Five time periods are identified: the late 1970s and early 1980s for the indirect recognition of intangible heritage in terms of associated historical and art historic values; the 1980s as precursors of change, with discussions on the living character of rural areas and landscapes; the first half of the 1990s for a major change taking place, that is, the recognition of an anthropological approach through the introduction of the cultural landscape concept and cultural associations like living traditions as well as the introduction of the idea of intangible attributes in the context of the debate on authenticity; the second half of the 1990s and first half of the 2000s for the continuation of discussions and the implementation of concepts, which concerns most prominently the revised definition of authenticity and the recognition of intangible attributes in the application of criteria other than criterion (vi); and the second half of the 2000s up to 2014 for a consolidation as well as stagnation of conceptual discussions, probably due to the politicization of the World Heritage Committee, with the full integration of the idea of attributes in the Operational Guidelines, as well as the opening of new directions, such as the importance of finding methods to assess the tangible-intangible relationship and its authenticity.

Chapter six, the conclusion, discusses and summarizes the main outcomes considering results from chapters four and five to highlight links between the discourses. It does so in two ways. An appendix portrays the main ideas and events in all four discourses over the course of time. Based on this illustration, results are discussed and markers pulled out to highlight the main ideas that have been identified to answer the research question. In this context, three aspects are presented: first, time as a factor and the implementation of the anthropological approach to cultural heritage; second, the relationship among Outstanding Universal Value, representative value, and the intangible nature of value; and third, the implementation of the idea of intangible attributes through the criteria and the concept of authenticity. The chapter also assesses the thesis’ contribution to knowledge and its limitations, and outlines possible further research. While the ambitious scope of this thesis restricts the research’s results, particularly with regard to the scientific discourse and the use of literature, a comprehensive understanding of the recognition of intangible heritage through the implementation of the World Heritage Convention provides an important knowledge base for implementing the Convention in a coherent, objective, and well-informed way.