Blurb:

The final chapters of the book contain three different ethnomusicological case studies on performing arts (such as music, dance, singing and festivals etc.) as one domain of intangible cultural heritage defined by the Convention. One unifying element of these case studies is the application of fieldwork as a central research method. Through fieldwork, the authors are able to gradually extract the concepts, expectations, influences and discourses surrounding the history of musical practices – considered as important cultural assets that need to be preserved – and how this affects the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Beyond that, the ethnographic (applied) approach to intangible cultural heritage allows the researcher to position her- or himself within the field, and thus to take a critical and self-reflexive perspective on the role of the ethnomusicologist within the context and process of heritagization of musical traditions.