Showing papers on "Cultural heritage published in 1983"

The hotnot syndrome: Myth‐making in South African school textbooks

Abstract: Cultural myths are important for the maintenance of political control in a hierarchial multi‐ethnic society. History is often manipulated by the ruling elite at the expense of other segments of the society. South Africa is no exception. The maintenance of these myths is supported by the educational system from a very young age. Disenfranchised people are usually at the bottom of the social ladder and have so little input into the myth‐making process that they reject their aboriginal heritage. The study offered here of South African history textbooks written from the beginning of the First World War to the 1980's shows that they are a reflection of the controlling elite's perception of history which is not consistent with current archaeological and anthropological studies by reputable scholars. The exposure of these myths now permits an acceptance by the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Cape of their indigenous cultural heritage.

Reason and Tradition.

Abstract: All of us members of civilized societies are, individually and collectively, the legatees of a vast and complex cultural heritage in which a great variety of strands-scientific, technological, religious, moral, political, artistic, and so on-are interwoven. A central component of this cultural heritage is a great body of customary, approved ways of thinking and acting that, whatever their basis in our genetic inheritance may be, cannot be accounted for simply or primarily by reference to that. This body we commonly call "tradition." The customary ways of thought and action comprising it

Nuvagantu: Nevada Indians Comment on the Intermountain Power Project

Abstract: This is the second of three reports produced for the Intermountain Power Project Native American cultural heritage resource study conducted by Richard Stoffle and members of the University of Wisconsin -Parkside Applied Urban Field School for Applied Conservation Technology, Inc. This report focuses on Southern Paiute cultural resources within the Nevada section of the Intermountain Power Project. This report analyzes what value members of Native American groups historically present in southern Nevada place upon cultural resources that may be adversely affected by construction of the proposed transmission line and associated structures. It does so by describing specific concerns expressed by contemporary Native Americans, and by presenting an ethnohistorical analysis of how intergroup relations and forced Native American demographic and cultural changes have contributed to shaping contemporary values, perceptions and attitudes. The project also conveys Native American recommendations for mitigating adverse impacts of the proposed construction upon their cultural heritage.

The origin and evolution of the world heritage convention

Abstract: The world heritage convention was adopted by the unesco general conference in 1972, and has been ratified or accepted by 76 countries. Its origins lay in the awareness that parts of the world's cultural and natural heritage, wherever they are located, belong to mankind's common heritage. -- ICCROM

Who Should Speak for the Performing Arts? The Case of the Delhi Dancers

Abstract: THE CREATIVE ARTS-performing, visual and literary-are a nation's culture made manifest. As Lloyd Rudolph points out in his introduction to this panel of papers, artists embed metaphors in their creations that shape reality. This constitutive aspect of the creative arts can be helped or hindered by cultural policy. Cultural policy is also instrumental. It deals with priorities in distribution, regulation, and allocation of resources, honor, and opportunities. In India, artistic and intellectual activity is multiple in style and form. Cultural policy attempts to propagate an intimate knowledge of India's great and little traditions, and to shape a shared, if not common, future. Those who formulate cultural policy for the performing arts aim to utilize available resources in ways that nurture and strengthen India's diverse cultural heritage and that afford opportunities to shape the future. Since Indian independence in 1947, the formulators of cultural policy have followed multiple paths, preserving what is old and valued but perhaps dying, as well as promoting what is new but less understood and valued, yet essential for national identity and confidence. Performing, visual, and literary arts create and shape a nation's identity. While, as Robert Anderson shows in his contribution to this panel, scientific accomplishments can also be constitutive of national identity, they are validated by world scientific communities. Accomplishments in the creative arts are best appreciated by India's own connoisseurs, critics, and performers. Because the creative arts are, in their initial expressions, distinctively Indian, a cultural policy which is more attuned to

Wasted Heritage and Waste Heritage: The Critical Disregard of an Important Canadian Novel

Abstract: This paper deals with the critical response to Waste Heritage, Irene Baird’s 1939 novel about social unrest in western Canada. The paper argues that Waste Heritage is an example of a category of fiction which can loosely be called "the novel of engagement," a category which is a dominant form of twentieth-century fiction, but which is also part of the mainstream of the western literary tradition. The paper goes on to argue that Waste Heritage has been ignored because of a "category mistake" in Canadian criticism which labelled such novels ’’social propaganda’’ and refused to consider them on their literary merits. The paper concludes with an analysis of those merits in Waste Heritage.

How will my garden grow? A philosophy for the restoration of historic gardens

Abstract: Throughout the world there is growing interest in the identification, description and preservation of historic gardens. The work of the joint Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) on developing an inventory of gardens has assisted this process. As well, many countries with long-established systems for the identification and protection of their cultural heritage are giving more attention to gardens and much more attention to the setting and landscape of historic or listed monuments.

A Baba Wedding

Abstract: The text takes the reader systematically through the wedding of Babas to Nyonyas in full traditional style. Beginning with the matchmaking process and ending with post-nuptial parties, Cheo Kim Ban discusses the significance and beauty of each ritual, highlighting the symbolism behind the paraphernalia used. The author also traces, wherever relevant, the ‘local’ influences which colour the original Chinese beliefs to make the unique cultural heritage of a wedding in the Baba community. Well researched and containing a stunning collection of photographs taken at an actual Malaccan Baba wedding, this volume is a tribute to his heritage from a true son of Malacca.

Social Construction as Tradition: A Review and Reconceptualization of the Dozens

Abstract: Issues related to culture have long been topics for scholarly discussion and debate. Interest in expressions of custom or tradition as indicators of cultural heritage seems to apply universally to the human experience, and language is often noted as the singular most important element of any culture. It is understandable, therefore, that social science would be intimately concerned with language as a prime medium through which individuals and peoples express their beliefs about the things they regularly do. There are reported to be over 2,000 live tongues in the world not counting dialects which, by definition, are rapidly becoming extinct. Naturally, a language map of the world could be expected to be different from a demographical map of nations. For example, most of Latin America is both culturally and linguistically Spanish, while Germany, Austria, and part of Switzerland comprise a one-language area with diverse cultures. For global inference an Esperanto movement has been advanced, which (discounting its eurocentric base) could improve the conduction of international affairs.

International Control of Illicit Movement of the Cultural Heritage: the 1970 UNESCO Convention and Some Possible Alternatives

Abstract: Although legislative concern to prevent activities that damage the cultural heritage goes back to at least the sixteenth century in Europe, 1 the effect of the greatly increased international and transnational activity this century has meant that many problems are beyond the capacity of national states to control. There have, therefore, been many attempts to use international law for the protection of the cultural heritage to formulate agreed policies on activities affecting the cultural heritage. This movement has created some difficult issues for governments where cultural matters have traditionally not been a subject for government regulation. Most common law countries are in this group. Nevertheless, the use of legislative controls in new areas is an inevitable phenomenon: it is not so long, after all, since governments have been active in the field of public health. Indeed, there are many other areas, traditionally considered as matters for the internal policy-making processes of a state, that have now become matters of international law and have created obligations for states to act within their borders, in ways which may or may not be in conformity with their historic methods of resolvling problems in the area. This is true of areas such as: human rights, which have important implications for national constitutional law; environmental law, which inevitably affects the law of property; and the control of narcotics. The international effect of activities on such matters has now become so significant that only international legal cooperation can give any hope of their resolution.

Contemporary Arab Writers and the Literary Heritage

Abstract: The cultural heritage of any one nation constitutes its collective experience and memory. Passed down from generation to generation, it contains a multitude of institutions, beliefs, and values that continue to act on the minds of people and affect their behavior. As an expression of the national identity, it is usually very wary of sudden change and prefers undisturbed continuity, its legitimate aims being self-preservation and the very existence of the nation as a group. It has its own checks and balances to allow any dose of change when the need for such arises. By an intricate historical process, it develops its own principles of inclusion and exclusion so that any change accepted or any change rejected will not affect its capacity for continued life and growth, but will rather enhance it.

Adjusting to New Realities: Financial Policies for Higher Education in Britain and the United States

Abstract: Two higher education finance systems with a common cultural heritage are compared. A brief description of the characteristics of both systems from the last 20 years is offered; indications of the immediate future within each system are considered in part by synthesizing a number of recent studies; and finally, implications are drawn in broad terms for comparative study of financial policy between the two systems, and suggestions are made for further topics.