Author: Laura Solanilla Demestre
Programme: Doctoral Programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
Language: Catalan
Supervisor: Dr Glòria Munilla Cabrillana
Faculty / Institute: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Subjects: Organizations, Associations, Conferences, Exhibitions, Museums
Key words: Oral memory, Intangible cultural heritage, Online museums, Internet
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Summary
This thesis originates from an interest in analysing the relationship established between three apparently disparate areas of knowledge: autobiographical oral memory, intangible heritage, and their presence and dynamics on the Internet.
The first area of knowledge, autobiographical oral memory or narration in the first person of personal remembrances, shows an evident collective dimension, not only due to the way in which it is constructed, but also because it affects the behaviour and way of seeing the world of whole communities, and becomes a very powerful signal of identity for social groups. The common remembrances of a social group are the basis on which their shared identity is founded, and form the element that legitimates or makes them different from other persons who do not belong to the same group.
The second area of knowledge, intangible heritage, is defined following the recognition of the concept of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2003. This fact, together with the transformations undergone by the world of cultural heritage and museums since the 1970s, has caused great changes at different levels in the ways of managing heritage. These changes range from the transformation of institutional models and the appearance of new types of centre to the new definition of the social roles of contemporary heritage institutions.
The third and last area of knowledge is related to the study and analysis of the consolidation of the Internet in the world of cultural heritage, and how this process has modified the way that online museums work, and opened new museology and museography perspectives.