Context report — blog

19th October 2017

What can we tell from Made in China?

Museums
Cultural Politics
Technology

Intangible vs tangible cultural heritages

What's missing?

Existing methods of collecting & exhibiting intangible cultural elements

heritage
culture
objects
experience
moment
museums
intangible
collection
technology
tradtion

Objects

who made it
where was it made
why he/she made it
how much money did he/she get in return
what language(s) does she/he speak
what does she/he eat
where was he/she born
fun facts?

My Opinions

it's important to protect and preserve the culture in it's 'live' form
it's meaningful to learn and know about the back story of each object
it's as (or more) important to acquire intangible cultural heritages than physical objects, as it's the process that matters the most, not the end result. It's about the recipe not the one dish by a chef.

My Assumptions

intangible culture is slowly fading away
there are new technology out there that can create an immersive experience to bring people "back in time"
it's not possible to find out more about what's already been lost

My Biases

being in a semi-isolated environment under direct control and monitor of the government for 14 years may have tinted my perspective of things, my ideas about consumerism and cultural heritages. I may or may not have a negative opinion on the topic of cultural awareness in China
I think the existing organisations, governments and institutions are not doing enough to protect intangible cultures. Or they don't see the necessities of doing so.

Keywords

· Keyword 1 Heritage

· Keyword 2 Culture

· Keyword 3 Objects

· Keyword 4 Experience

· Keyword 5 Moment

· Keyword 6 Museums

· Keyword 7 Intangible

· Keyword 8 Collection

· Keyword 9 Technology

· Keyword 10 Tradition

Research Questions

(Note down five potential research questions/lines of enquiry)

· Research Question 1 / Line of Enquiry 1

What is intangible culture, and its difference from tangible culture

· Research Question 2 / Line of Enquiry 2

What are the existing methods of collecting intangible culture?

· Research Question 3 / Line of Enquiry 3

Ways of protecting Cultural Heritage?

· Research Question 4 / Line of Enquiry 4

Is intangible culture dying? Can we resurrect/recover/revitalize the forgotten skills?

· Research Question 5 / Line of Enquiry 5

What are the existing ways of presenting intangible culture?

Primary Research

(Here note down any primary research such as interviews, surveys or forms of practice which might help you in answering your research questions, Consider why this research method might be useful for your project.)

Activities I might undertake to help me answer my first research question: attending performances and ceremonies and try to record it using different techniques.

This will help me answer my question because: it gives me an idea of what exactly is intangible about this ceremony or happening, and why can’t it be collected and exhibited as a museum object.

Other Research Sources

(Here note down five to ten key research sources for your project such as key texts such as books and journal articles, podcasts, tv programmes, films, etc. Use Google Scholar and the Library catalogue to identify relevant sources.)

· Research Source 1:

Intangible heritage and the museum new perspectives on cultural preservation

https://library.soas.ac.uk/Record/10136917

· Research Source 2:

UNESCO on the Ground: Local Perspectives on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

https://library.soas.ac.uk/Record/10204590

· Research Source 3:

Novel theories challenge conventional understanding of Chinese art history

https://www.soas.ac.uk/art/research-in-action/novel-theories-challenge-conventional-understanding-of-chinese-art-history.html

· Research Source 4:

关注母亲河 : 中国非物质文化遗产・民间剪纸国际学术研讨会文集

https://library.soas.ac.uk/Record/722603#notes