Introduction

Kosmidou, Eleftheria Rania; McMurtry, Leslie

Abstract

In this introduction to the edited collection, the editors discuss the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary possibilities of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), using the original UNESCO definition as a starting point. The editors emphasize that ICH has moved beyond initial configurations within museums and monuments, proposing a broader definition that highlights ICH as a lived tradition that has outgrown early concepts of safeguarding. The editors provide a historical background to ICH from the postwar period to the 2001 working definitions, the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH, and beyond. The chapters within the edited collection are introduced through their use of new methodologies and re-envisioning of ICH across multiple cultural, geographical, and discipline boundaries.

• Online Publication Date: May 5, 2025
• Publication Date: May 5, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jul 9, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Intangible Cultural Heritage and New Methodological Frameworks: Media, Performance, and the Public Space
• Chapter Number: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003415329-1