Sustaining Intangible Cultures: Digitization, Preservation, Transmission

Traditional cultural practices and the knowledge that they transmit seem under threat around the world. In response, governments, academics, and communities alike are working to document traditions before they disappear. But what can you do to keep practices intangible cultural traditions alive in your community or in communities around the world? Is it even possible to make a meaningful contribution if you are not a profession filmmaker or sound engineer? Sustaining Intangible Cultures demystifies the process of documenting intangible cultural traditions so anyone can get started creating

ethical, high-quality, and useful documentation that helps preserve practices in the present, and that can be used to transmit and sustain them into the future. Whether a graduate student preparing for first fieldwork, a community member interested in protecting local traditional knowledge, or a cultural heritage professional, readers will learn about preparing for field documentation, the nuts and bolts of quality documentation, and how the data collected can be used to sustain cultural transmission to future generations. Written in accessible language, this handbook is for anyone

interested in documenting cultural practices in the 21st century.

Advance Praise for Sustaining Intangible Cultures:

"Sustaining Intangible Cultures is a practical, straight forward, and accessible handbook that will aid both beginning and advanced fieldworkers. Drawing on extensive experience working with individuals and communities in western China, Thurston offers workable strategies and keen insights that will aid documentation on the ground anywhere."

—MARK BENDER, The Ohio State University

"Timothy Thurston’s book is a warm, vivid, and deeply thoughtful guide to keeping cultural traditions alive. Rich in fieldwork experience and practical insight, it shows how careful documentation can become far more than an archive: a living bridge between generations, communities, and changing worlds. Timely, engaging, and ethically grounded, this is an invaluable companion for researchers, students, heritage practitioners, and all those committed to sustaining intangible cultures for generations to come."

— ALEVTINA SOLOVYEVA, University of Tartu