Universität Wien

240055 SE BM9 Cultural Heritage: Anthropology and UNESCO (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 24 - Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Participation at first session is obligatory!

The lecturer can invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial achievements. Partial achievements that are obtained by fraud or plagiarized result in the non-evaluation of the course (entry 'X' in certificate). The plagiarism software 'Turnitin' will be used.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
Mo 13.01. 09:45-11:15 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
Register/Deregister for this course

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 15.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Thursday 16.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Friday 17.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Tuesday 21.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 22.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Thursday 23.01. 09:45 - 13:00 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course examines the intersection between anthropology and UNESCO, an international organization dedicated to Education, Sciences, Social Sciences, Communication, and Culture. The seminar focuses on the culture sector with specific attention to cultural heritage. Anthropology has been instrumental in defining UNESCO's mandate, with many anthropologists contributing to shaping its work and significance. Concurrently, scholars have critically studied UNESCO as a research field, highlighting its impact on the understanding and politicization of culture and international development cooperation. The course will introduce the prolific literature of the Anthropology of UNESCO, addressing concepts like heritagization and Unescoization, attentively analyzing social and power dynamics arising from these concepts. These debates will be situated in the broader Anthropology of Development literature. Additionally, the seminar offers practical immersion in UNESCO's activities through discussions with professionals from the organization (more information will be shared in class). A particular emphasis will be placed on cultural heritage management, using case studies to familiarize students with international conventions such as the World Heritage Convention and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, and project management.

During the seminar, you will:
- Gain comprehensive knowledge about UNESCO, including its history, organizational structure, mandates, and key stakeholders.
- Critically examine the concepts of culture and cultural heritage, drawing on academic scholarship and UNESCO’s frameworks and practices
- Receive an introduction to heritage and project management, resulting in the development of a project proposal.
- Reflect generally on the practice of anthropology as a discipline, understanding how anthropologists can become practitioners at UNESCO and how UNESCO becomes a field of research for anthropologists.

Assessment and permitted materials

Attendance is expected (up to one 3-hour session may be missed) as well as active participation during the discussions and the different group exercises. Students will have to prepare one presentation (UNESCO project case study) and write a project proposal related to cultural heritage management. This will be discussed step by step in class.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All the different assignments given during the semester have to be completed and submitted to pass the course. A minimum of 51% partial credit is required. Students will have to submit a short-written assignment related to readings for missed classes.

90-100 % = 1
77-89 %= 2
64-76 %= 3
51-63 %= 4
0-50 % = 5

Grade breakdown:
Presentation and group work: 35%
In-class participation: 25%
Project proposal: 40%

Examination topics

Presentations, group work, active participation, in-class discussions, final project proposal

Reading list

Selected references
- CROSS Charlotte, GIBLIN John, 2022, Critical Approaches to Heritage for Development, London, Routledge
- DE CESARI Chiara, 2013, thinking through Heritage Regimes, in Heritage Regimes and the State, edited by BENDIX Regina, EGGERT Aditya and PESELMANN Arnika, Universitätsverlag Göttingen
- ESCOBAR Arturo, 2012. Chap. 2, The problematization of poverty: the tale of three worlds and development, in Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton: Princeton University Press., p. 21-54
- FERGUSON James, 2006, The Anti-Politics Machine, in The Anthropology of the State: A Reader, edited by Aradhana Sharma, and Akhil Gupta, p.270-286
- MESKELL Lynn, 2018, A future in Ruins, UNESCO, World Heritage and the Dream of Peace, Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press.
- SAMELIK Oscar, 2021, Anthropologies of Cultural Heritage, in P The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Anthropology, edited by EDERSEN Lene and CLIGGET Lena, London, SAGE Publications.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 04.09.2024 12:28