Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0008-9619-0510
Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
4-2026
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Jennifer Taw
Abstract
This paper explores how the heritage ideologies of the academic and legal traditions of the “West” have exerted influence over the modern conception of heritage in order to fulfill their own ideas of value. It uses a combination of anthropological theory, ethnographic research, and international law to analyze this phenomenon, first identifying the theory and history behind culture, heritage, and civilization in international law. The paper then goes on to analyze UNESCO’s ICH designation and the consequences of Western heritage construction from 4 case studies, each variably removed from the West: Cases from Greece, Uruguay, Malawi, and Tonga will identify different ways in which they have been impacted by an external heritage construction since (except Greece) their accession to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 20 years ago. These case studies will look at how the the process of heritage construction have played out, while also recognizing how more recent efforts reflect a shift towards greater sensitivity to these dynamics.
Recommended Citation
Sangsvang, Chumnan J. III, "Cultural Dissonance: Western Hierarchical Structures in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4193.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4193
