Sweers & Ross/Cultural Mapping and Musical Diversity, Introduction Part I

The concept of “Cultural Mapping” has been regarded as a central methodological resources for safeguarding cultural diversity within the UNESCO context. Before addressing the specific UNESCO approach and ethnomusicological perspectives of mapping further detail, the introduction to Part I provides a brief overview of the main features of mapping in general. In contrast to conventional maps, the specific documentation of the Cultural Mapping approach not only comprises landscape features, but also a variety of other sociocultural and –political elements. As is evident here, Cultural Mapping has become a central tool of urban planning projects, but also of other applied approaches. While repeatedly described as a method or tool kit in many handbooks that emerged since the mid-1990s, most approaches remain nevertheless relatively vague, rarely ever reflecting on the actual set of methodologies being used. As is argued here and is likewise illustrated by the articles of Part I, ethnomusicology could make a strong contribution here.