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Book: Intangible Natural Heritage: New Perspectives on Natural Objects

Eric Dorfman is author/editor on an upcoming book for the International Council of Museums, administered by the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History (NATHIST).

The topic of intangible natural heritage is new, and recently emerging as an important subject of inquiry. It describes the untouchable elements of the environment that combine to create natural objects, and help define our relationship to them. These elements can be sensory, like the sound of a landscape, or processes like natural selection. As a concept, intangible natural heritage is growing in prominence, as museums  are increasingly charged safeguarding and interpreting the milieux from which their objects originate. This book is a significant advance on the subject of intangible natural heritage. No book on the topic has yet been written and current scholarship is confined to a few isolated papers.

 

Contents

1. Intangible Natural Heritage: An Introduction. Eric Dorfman

2. The Intangible Roots of Our Tangible Heritage. Adrian Norris

3. Case Studies of Intangible Natural Heritage from Museum Collections. John A. Long

4. ‘That Singular And Wonderful Quadruped’: The Kangaroo As Historical Intangible Natural Heritage in the Eighteenth Century. Markman Ellis

5. "Project INH": A Case Study Of the Role of Museums in the Interpretation of Intangible Natural Heritage. B. Venugopal

6. On Nature's Terms: Preserving the Practice of Traditional Backcountry Recreation in New Zealand’s National Parks. Lee Davidson

7. Poetically, Man Dwells With Crickets: Nature and Culture of Chinese Singing Insects. Xingbao Jin and Alan L. Yen

8. Terra Cognita, Down and Under, Living Stones and the Sound of Stones: Reflections on Four Exhibitions. Ulrike Stottrop

9. Discussion: Towards a Unified Concept of Intangible Natural Heritage. Eric Dorfman and Janet Carding

 

This book is due out in 2011 by Routledge Press (New York). Please contact Eric Dorfman for more information. For more information, see Routledge.

 

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