scholarly journals Social Capital and Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Theoretical Concepts of Departure and the Potential of Further Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135
Author(s):  
Daniel Drápala

AbstractThis study discusses the use of the social capital concept in relation to the elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and their safeguarding. The author proceeds from theoretical concepts which were employed by some researchers outside ethnological research (P. Bourdieu, Y. F. Fukuyama, R. D. Putnam and others) in the last decades. He highlights one of the basic principles of social capital, which consists of sharing the real and the potential sources, knowledge, and information, which an individual or a group of persons acquire through more or less institutionalized relations. Based on the experience from the national environment (Czech Republic) and an international organization (UNESCO) he contemplates to which extent it is possible to apply the theoretical foundations of social capital on the ICH, where the principle of sharing of and mutual respect to cultural elements is one of the basic theses. The discussion about the social capital concept in social sciences has until now shown how wide the spectrum of possible perspectives is. There is not the only possible determinant interpretation and field. The chosen theme, the methodology, and the discipline’s tradition contribute to different territorial and conceptual adaptations of social capital, which, however, also generates a potential of using this concept in the form of transdisciplinary research. This can be used, in the future, for the study of intangible cultural heritage.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Drápala

This article discusses the use of the concept of social capital in relation to the elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and the need to protect it. At the outset, the author examines theoretical concepts which researchers have employed, in past decades, outside the area of ethnological studies. The article highlights one of the basic principles, that of social capital, which consists in sharing real and potential sources, knowledge, and information, which an individual person or group acquires through relations that may to some degree be characterized as institutional. Based on experiences gathered both in a national context (the Czech Republic) and within that of an international organization (UNESCO), the article attempts to assess the extent to which it is possible to apply the theoretical foundations of the idea of the social capital to ICH, where the principles of the sharing of and mutual respect towards cultural elements are two of the basic premises.


Author(s):  
Ben Kei Daniel

Social capital is a complex multifaceted and litigious theory, discussed in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. It is a theory increasingly researchers questioned its scientific legitimacy and yet paradoxically many other researchers continuously use it as a conceptual and theoretical framework to explain the structural and functional operations of communities. This Chapter discusses work done on the theory. It covers some of the theoretical controversy with a goal of aligning its conceptualization and distinguishing it from other types of capitals. The Chapter is organized first the basic theoretical and conceptual foundations of social capital are described. The aim is to present the reader with a basic understanding of what constitutes social capital, by opening discussion about various forms of capital(s)—as discussed in the disciplines of Economics and Sociology. Second, the Chapter discusses the origin of the theory as well as the work of key scholars who have contributed to the development of the theory. Furthermore, in order to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the theory, the Chapter provides the reader with analysis of benefits and shortcomings of social capital both as a theoretical and analytical tool for studying communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-95
Author(s):  
Alexandra Bitušíková

A large number of studies within the social sciences have been devoted to the relationship between cultural heritage and cultural/ heritage tourism development in recent years and even decades. This area of study has been an object of interest for numerous disciplines, from economics, geography, sociology and history, to ethnology, sociocultural anthropology, museology and cultural studies. The study aims to present selected theories on cultural heritage and heritage tourism based on recent theoretical concepts, and to reflect their implementation within a particular national and regional context based on a case study of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, Slovakia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Tsaaior

Scholarship negotiating African folktales and the entire folkloric tradition in Africa has always been constituted as harbouring fundamental lacks. One of these lacks is the supposed incapacity of oral cultures to produce high literature. However, it is true that folktales and other oral forms in Africa can participate actively in the social, political and cultural process. In this paper, we engage folktales told by the Tiv of central Nigeria and situate them within the dynamic of history, culture, modernity and national construction in Nigeria. The paper adopts a historicist and culturalist perspective in its interpretation of the folktales which were collected in particular Tiv communities. This methodological approach helps to crystallize the historical and cultural lineaments embedded in the people’s experiences, values and worldviews. It also constitutes a contextual background for the understanding of the folktales as they offer informed commentaries on social currents and political contingencies in Nigeria. It argues that though folktales belong to a pre-scientific and pre-industrial dispensation, they are part of the people’s intangible cultural heritage and are capable of distilling powerful statements which negotiate Nigerian modernity and postcolonial condition. The paper underscores the dynamism and functionality of folktales even in an increasingly globalised ethos.


1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Henk Flap

A recent theoretical development within the social sciences has been the emergence of the social capital research program. This is a program on relational resources, their creation, use. and effects. It took shape first within sociology and anthropology, nowadays it is also growing in popularity within political sciences and economics.


2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Healy

Following work by James Coleman and Pierre Bourdieu in the 1980s, social scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds have engaged in a debate about the meaning and application of social capital. Questions arise about the coherence, novelty and analytical purchase of the term: there is a risk of overstretching the concept to include too much. Moreover, empirical measures and proxy variables are only very approximately matched to the underlying concept(s). Some applications of the concept lump together different strands of social behaviour and attitude and treats these as universally equivalent or ‘outside’ specific cultures, institutional settings, historical contexts and power structures. It is suggested that these problems cannot be entirely resolved and have parallel examples in all areas of empirical research in the social sciences. However, suggestions are made for greater trans-disciplinary research, dialogue and connection to policy and community practice in an Irish context. We can sum up our position as follows. Social capital has several adolescent characteristics: it is neither tidy nor mature; it can be abused, analytically and politically; its future is unpredictable; but it offers much promise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annisa Dwida Sunggowo Putri ◽  
Anggara Raharyo ◽  
Muhammad AS Hikam

This article investigates Indonesia’s cultural diplomacy in Saudi Arabia through the tourism promotion programs from 2015 to 2018. Cultural diplomacy is aimed to raise awareness about the wealth of Indonesian culture relating to tourism that can be utilized in obtaining the desired outcomes. This article employs the concept of ‘sof power’ and qualitative approach with the technique of data collection by analysing the official documents from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, as well as the technique of secondary data collection that analyzes several literatures including books, reports, journals, and related articles. This article argues that Indonesia’s efforts in conducting cultural diplomacy practices in Saudi Arabia through the tourism promotion programs from 2015 to 2018 is involving the cultural elements to the programs that were Islamic-nuanced and recognized as the world’s intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO. 


Author(s):  
Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra ◽  
Jaqueline Alma ◽  
Miguel Cipolla-Ficarra ◽  
Jim Carré

The first studies of the social sciences aimed at the videogames of the 80s and the methods to evaluate the usability engineering of the 90s have highlighted a set of positive and negative aspects in the human-computer interaction which go from the ergonomic aspects of the devices down to the motivations to draw the attention of the users in the interaction process. In this research we present the results reached with adult users in relation to the communicability and the usability in a classical videogame for PC. We also present the elements of interactive design which boost the poiesis in cultural heritage that the analyzed videogame contains.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bloxam ◽  
Ian Shaw

This chapter discusses a range of current debates into the ways in which Egyptologists are engaging with the problems and demands of moving towards greater collaborations across the social sciences if it is to remain a relevant discipline in its own right. Viewpoints from contributing authors are synthesized into a discussion of recent developments in the field from fresh research across both the archaeological and textual arms of the discipline. The volume considers the extent to which scholars need to be revising and re-thinking their research questions and moving towards greater collaborations within the discipline, and crucially outside of it. Moving the discipline forward is also about including voices outside of western discourses and into volumes such as this. The contributions from Chinese and Egyptian scholars therefore bring a fresh perspective to some current problems in Egyptological research particularly in cultural heritage management, museum curation, and investigating archaeological landscapes.


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