Eszter Jakab | The Problem of Transliteration

After having discussed the question of carefully selecting resources, the next issue that arises is the problem of transliteration. In my case, it is even more crucial to scrutinize this matter since my research deals with a lot of languages. In addition to a very simple issue of caring about always putting foreign terms into italic, usually there are many other factors to be taken into consideration. So what should I keep in mind, what options do I have and which ones should I choose?

First of all, let me begin with defining the languages I will work with. This group can also be divided into two sub-groups: the languages which I am familiar with and those with which I am not, or just partly. In the first group there is English of course, Sanskrit (Saṃskṛṭa), Pali (PāỊi) and perhaps Hindi (Hindī). In the second group there is the language used by Emperor Ashok (Aśoka) which is Prakrit (Prākṛta) and in addition, there are the Chinese travelogues. Furthermore, Persian and Arabic names and words could also occur occasionally.

The question of target audience should be discussed at this very early point as it decides many further issues. At this moment, my thesis just started to shift from a nomination dossier to a more academic research oriented work. Currently the outlook points more to the hope that with my work I will be able to join the scholarly discourse of South Asian studies from the aspect of cultural heritage. Thus, my target audience will primarily consist of scholars from the field of philology, history, art history, archaeology, and social sciences, who are all somehow attached to this area and possibly many of them are familiar with at least one of the languages in question. This is something that has to be kept in mind when deciding on any of the followings.

In terms of the first group of languages, I am on familiar ground. The most common system used in Indology is the ‘International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration’ (IAST). Transliterating Devanagari (Devanāgarī) script is something which is done easily by me, and if I am uncertain about any phoneme, I know exactly which dictionary to look it up in or what root could the word be derived from. So I can rely on many support. Fortunately, all the inscriptions of Ashok have been transliterated in this system, thus I am able to track down any expression that I need to use.

However, when it comes to Chinese I become uncertain since I am not experienced in the phonology, the characters or the transliteration. The most frequent system used according to my knowledge is the Hanyu Pinyin (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn). In addition, I could use the Wade-Giles system or the English version of Pinyin, where they leave out the diacritic signs. Considering my lack of expertise in Sinology, using the latter seems obvious, but then the question of scholarly expectations arises. In terms of Persian and Arabic I am again on more familiar ground due to my ongoing studies in the former. At present, my opinion on this matter is to always opt for the most scholarly version made possible by my own background, accessible resources, and assistance asked from experts.

A further issue is that when it comes to English resources, usually they already contain some Romanized version of the terms and names found in primary sources. This could cause some difficulties for two reasons. On the one hand, in many works they simply Anglicize these words. On the other hand, especially in the case of old, maybe more than hundred-year-old documents, they use a very early version of transliteration, some of them considered completely incorrect by now. Therefore one has to be highly cautious regarding these dissimilar versions and has to strive to make the thesis consistent in this matter.

Moreover, having already decided which system will I use and having converted all the foreign expressions occurring in the thesis, a rule should be decided upon the means of usage. During my reading I have encountered at least three different methods, however, they were for different audiences – to which question we arrive again. There is the one, which uses only the foreign terms in italic, there is the one in which either the foreign or the English version is in brackets according to the logic on a case-by-case basis, and there is the one which uses scholarly transliteration once and then never again to make it more comprehensible for the reader. (Let us admit, some Sanskrit, Chinese or Persian word is really a tongue-twister even with simple pronunciation based transliteration, and someone not familiar with IAST for instance, will give up on the first page if using that only.)

Since I am writing to a scholarly audience, my rules should be developed correspondingly. Still, for the sake of better understanding, one has to be reasonable in this question. Using the foreign transliterated word in every possible case would make the text hard to absorb even for a Sanskritist deeply engaged in the field. Accordingly, my view on this issue is that if there is a word for it in English that fully covers the meaning of the one found in the original source, then after indicating the authentic version in brackets, one may leave using them subsequently. It is a different case of course if there is a legit intention for using the foreign words, as for instance it indicates a specific concept not found in the Western tradition. To give an example, in Indian architecture the Buddhist monastery is called vihāra. Yet it is unnecessary to always use this world, as the context of the thesis and the former explanation gives a clear understanding for ‘monastery’. Otherwise, if we talk about the curvilinear tower structure found in the Northern-Indian temple architecture, which is called ‘śikhara’, the latter should be used as it alludes to a specific element that cannot be substituted with an English term.

Additionally, it is also not obvious if I should use the original alphabets as well or not, especially in the cases of quotes from primary sources such as the Pali Canon. On this matter I mainly rely on the experience, that even the philological works of great Indolgists use the transliterated version of the text. However, when it comes to Hindi, it is not seldom to include the Devanagari script as well.

Last, but not least, I have to consider putting in an appendix of all what has been discussed above. This appendix may explain the different transliteration systems used and the phonology – at least partly –, and maybe the reasons why I follow certain rules in my thesis. This would certainly make the whole work more complete and at the same time more comprehensible.

Having read my second blogpost, I hope that it appears, that I have developed a rule already for this specific case which is that I have given the scholarly transliterated version in the beginning, and then used only the Anglicized version in favour of my target audience. Practice makes perfect.

Figuring out my place | Tingchao Chang

A half of the term has passed so far, and I’m still on the way of finding the direction in the unlimited field and knowledge. This time, I’d like to simply share something happened in these days and what I might change in my research topic. Maybe, I’ll be the first one among all of us to change the topic dramatically.

The first meeting with Joska and Alice was already few weeks ago. At that time, I was still sticking to the proposal as the last post here. Naturally, they tried to figure out some helpers who can connect me to my research and field. Alice recommended a professor, Jing-Jing in Minzu University of China in Beijing to me. She once came to CEU for scholar exchange so that they both knew her. Actually, “Minzu” itself means “ethnicity” in Chinese, which shows the significance of the university in ethnicity studies and polices in China. Although Jing-Jing is a professor in history, she agreed to find related research programs and groups in heritage issues, especially concerning ethnic problems. It looks like it is a good beginning, while there is always a worry keeping in my mind.

Seeing everyone’s research topic is based on their personal experiences in their hometown, I keep wondering if I can find a topic in my hometown as well. Although the fact that the concept and policies of heritage in Taiwan is really just initial makes it difficult to form a research question, I deeply believe that there are a lot of things which can be heritage in Taiwan. This is the most tremendous dilemma I face in my decision. I keep trying to form a complete question but I find out that it is quite difficult. In the academic field of Taiwan, there are some discussions concentrating on the potential of places to become world heritage, and it’s all. Nothing more can be discussed further.

The highest authoriry of cultural heritage in Taiwan 

which cannot participate much in the international community 

After the lectures given by Joska in these weeks, I discover that “historic layers” is a critical concept in the study of heritage. When I start to consider somewhere which can be analyzed by this concept, Matsu islands comes up to my mind. Interestingly, I just visited there this summer after I had submitted the project proposal last year. So far I still cannot forget the awestruck landscape, monuments and aura in the region. I turn to the related academic discussion before, and as a result, the issues of the culture of Matsu islands has boomed for several years. In 2017, International Conference “Matsu: The Island of War and Peace” was held by international academic communities. Scholarship from different subjects has a variety of ideas to think and imagine the islands. In the field of heritage studies, the focus was put on the interpretation of war memories, while I think it is not enough for the whole figure of the place.

Landscape of Dongju Island, which includes the layer of 

the traditional settlement, the colonial history and the war memories

Now I have a more concrete field which I learn more about already, and the history and memories of the field is more related to my personal experience and identity, although it is still somehow distant to me. Then, I have to modify my research framework to fit the field, which I’ll need to do more work by myself. The place-making process would still be concerned in my research, but the significance of historic layers should be introduced in the backbone of my thesis. Besides war memories, how the locals recognize and cope with different levels of history? What the relationship between Matsu islands and Taiwan change in different periods? The similar question can be applied to every heritage site, but the difference of answers is the most valuable thing in the academic research.

Finally, I realize that I’m still not the kind of anthropologist who can excitedly do research in a distant and unfamiliar place. To do something more connected to myself is anyway more attractive and reflexive to me. Nevertheless, the degree of distance and familiarity is actually controlled by ourselves. The importance of research is always to dig out new findings in the world, which can be as near as our daily lives, or as far as the antipode of where you are. As for what is Matsu islands about, let me leave it in later posts or presentation in the class! Enjoy the pictures I just took first!

In the end, I’d like to list something I should promptly do in following weeks.

1.      To discuss this modification with Joska and Alice.

2.      To clarify how to cope with the case if the state (Taiwan) doesn’t do much, which is the biggest difference to my previous proposal.

3.      To reconsider the partnership with Minzu University of China (internship, conference, etc.)

Andong Tunnel in Dongyin Island, showing the evidence war memory

Sanhe Temple in Beigan Island, showing the traditional religion and architecture

Iron Fort in Nangan Island, showing the fortification of the war period

Stream of consciousness | Data Collection | Dinara Satbayeva

Here is my second blog post, which does not come easy, as I need to put together everything I thought about since I started to structure my thesis more thoughtfully. Even though my research topic is not fully shaped I’m starting to think about the data I will use. In the end there can be multiple ways of going around the thesis, so I am tying a less straightforward one. At first, it may seem too early to think about all the numbers and details, however, in many ways, the type of data that you can acquire and the adequacy of this data influences the feasibility of the whole research.

In this blog I would like to start developing a roadmap - a data planning. In my current phrasing, the research suggests an extensive usage of qualitative data that is produced by direct and indirect interaction with people. Studying participatory management involves an attempt for a better understanding of the modes of thinking of my audience. As architecture serves as a backbone structure of human interaction, of the community and the sense of communal space, audience involvement in the interpretive process is unavoidable.

Specifically: How does public opinion on architecture form? What do people appreciate about architecture? Why do people dislike modernist architecture? Do people see themselves as a decision-making party to how architecture is constructed? Do they want to have a decision-making agency?

These questions were popping up in my mind, as I was reading various “how to get your research started” articles. I felt a need to come back to a bigger picture and talk about the society and architecture in general. Historical changes in the ideas of power relationship, ideology and aesthetics can come in handy to consider. Also, before considering what kinds of data collection techniques I can use, it worths thinking about what kind of information I need more narrowly.

So, current position of modernist architecture can be compared in time and space. One of the ways to do this is looking at how modernist architecture of the soviet time can now be interpreted within a larger style of western Brutalism. Especially, it is interesting to look at how these two styles, which have a lot in common aesthetically, can be treated and perceived differently. It is also exciting to see the inherent contradictions of the style and their influence on people's understanding.

“Brutalism” refers to the style that was firstly coined by the Swedish architect Hans Asplund. He used the word describing Villa Göth, a modern brick home in Uppsala. This house was designed in 1949 by architects Bengt Edman and Lennart Holm. However, today it is mostly associated with Le Corbusier, who employed the french phrase “béton brut”, to underline the essential material of brutalist architecture – raw concrete. Brutalism was a outgrowth of modern architecture, largely motivated by the urge to rebuild living spaces after the Second World War.

One of the most striking contradictions come from the term itself. It can be easily trapped in a mis-association. The adjective “brutal” that implies various negative connotations of cruel, harsh, and unpleasant, despite having common latin origins with “Brutalist”, is not a correct way of conceptualizing Brutalist architecture. This association in itself can suggest a negative narrative behind those buildings. For modernist architecture the familial connection to brutalism and historical coexistence with an oppressive regime poses an even bigger question of associations.

Habitat 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Another contradiction comes from the principles of brutalist and modernist architecture. As architect and critic Reyner Banham writes in an article for The Architectural Review in 1955 “The New Brutalism,” there are three three qualities of Brutalist objects: Memorability as an Image, Clear exhibition of structure, Valuation of materials for their inherent qualities ‘as found.’

Without going into details, whereas two first qualities are aiming to define a modern aesthetic clearly, the third is also a way of creating a down-to-earth architecture of simple and functional raw material. In my thinking the principle of 'as found', thus supposed to speak to the audience with more clarity and be more approachable, however in practice, these principles can cause another effect. Concrete and geometrical forms appear as antagonistic and cold.

Therefore, my research is a part of a larger issue of translating brutalist and modernist architecture in the way it was intended to be translated. Conveying its universal, ahistorical and human-needs-centric idea, where the buildings would provide a spacial interactive platform for society, not an oppressive spacial force.

The Brunel University Lecture Center prominently featured in Stanley Kubrick’s movie A Clockwork Orange. Built in the 1960s, designed by Richard Sheppard, Robson & Partners.

This kind of stream of consciousness discussion, if advanced, helps me see the approach for evidence collection I should undertake. If going into specifics of my own research, I can see several paths and hence several data collection scenarios. The first was suggested during my thesis planning meeting, which revolves around a simple question “Why do people like or dislike Soviet Modernist architecture in Kazakhstan?”.

• Interviews

• Questionnaires and Surveys

• Observations

• Focus Groups

• Ethnographies and Case Studies

• Documents and Records

… These are some of the methods I will consider as I proceed. Hopefully, this approaches can start a dialog to understand and engage with a topic of how the society views and interacts with our urban landscapes and modernist buildings in particular.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Banham, Reyner. "The New Brutalism." October (2011): 19-28.

Molnár, Virág. "Cultural politics and modernist architecture: the tulip debate in postwar Hungary." American Sociological Review 70, no. 1 (2005): 111-135.

Reid, Susan E. "Communist comfort: socialist modernism and the making of cosy homes in the Khrushchev era." Gender & History 21, no. 3 (2009): 465-498.

https://weburbanist.com/2015/10/26/concrete-wonders-13-brutalist-buildings-in-the-usa-britain/  

http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1060

http://brutalistdc.com/defining-brutalism/ 

'CHALE WOTE' - Ghana's best bet in the World of Contemporary Arts | Daniel Anyim

As fluid as the seamless flow of a water fall, culture as a phenomenon since time immemorial has never known stagnation irrespective of the people/community that creates it or the geographical setting where it is practiced. The malleability of culture thus accords room for generations after generations who inherit these heritages the leeway to either maintain or augment the existing features/practices of the said culture. Art on the hand is arguably regarded as the soul around which any given culture revolves and sets the precedence around which prospective generations resonate with. The importance of art to the culture of a society is one that cannot be overemphasized.

This leads to the beautiful tale between the historic district of Jamestown and the birth of "Chale Wote" Street Art Festival.

The historic district of Jamestown.
Overview

 Jamestown located directly east of the Korle  lagoon is a fishing district predominantly occupied by the Ga, an indigenous people of coastal Ghana. It is reputed as one of the oldest and densely populated areas in the capital, Accra. Fondly known as British Accra, history has it that the construction of the James fort and Ussher fort by the British and Dutch respectively in the 17^th century contributed immensely to the emergence of the community.  Progressively, the community evolved in size and population to become part of Accra as the capital experienced economic, social and developmental growth. The district was heavily developed by the end of the 19th century and following the rapid growth of the capital during the 20th century, Jamestown became an area of a dense mixture of commercial and residential use.During this period of systematic growth within the district, other important monuments such as the Jamestown light house was built in 1871. 

In recent years, Jamestown has carved its contemporary image as a unique location for unconventional lifestyles/art forms, a hot spot for tourists desiring to understand remnants of Accra’s colonial past, home of “Homowo”, an annual festival celebrated by the ‘Ga’ speaking people, and the venue for the ‘Chale Wote’ Street Art Festival.

The CHALE WOTE Wave

On 16^th July 2011, the maiden edition and eight-year romance between Chale Wote street art festival and the historic streets of Jamestown was off to a flying start. “Chale Wote” is a Ga expression which translates as “friend, lets go”. Accra [dot] ALT an independent cultural network that promotes the alternative work of Ghanaian artists and emerging creatives across the globe are the forces behind its inception. The festival is an alternative platform that brings art, music, dance and performance out of the galleries and onto the eclectic streets of James Town, Accra.

It includes street painting, graffiti murals, photo exhibitions, interactive installations,
a food and fashion marketplace, live street performances, extreme sports, African film shows, street boxing, a fashion parade, a music block party, recyclable design workshops and much more. More than 200 Ghana-based and international artists take part in the event every year.

Due to how fast the festival has evolved over the years with constant increase in patronage by locals and international tourists, the festival has morphed from being a one-day event to a week-long celebration of avant-garde creative works in the month of August.

Every year’s celebration is centered around a distinctive theme, thus, 2011 (DIY [do-it-yourself]), 2012 (“Outer space” exploration), 2013 (Re-imagining African folklore by creating exciting and futuristic versions), 2014 (Death: An Eternal Dream into Limitless Rebirth), 2015 (African Electronics), 2016 (Spirit Robot), 2017 (Wata Mata) and, 2018 (Para Other).

Over 30,000 people were recorded in attendance in 2016 and progressively rose to 40,000 in 2017. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in turn supported the festival this year with ¢300,000 following how extremely successful it has been over the years in boosting the country’s tourism sector.

Just like the dynamics in patterns of a beautifully woven local fabric, the talents of the Ghanaian youth within the sphere of creative arts is on an ascendancy. The strokes of their brushes, the seamless interplay of colors (graffiti, body and canvas painting etc.), the alternative music and dance forms they churn out on a constant basis and a host of other spectacular art forms feels like a breath of fresh air breezing through the historic district of Jamestown. Such a surreal blend of history and artistic futurism.

Relating this to my area of interest/research, the continuous success of this unique festival is a viable option to explore as it gained popularity largely through the use of social media specifically Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Through cost effective marketing in the presentation of its content and receiving feedback/interaction in equal measure from patrons, the team behind its existence develop concepts/themes to suit suggested requirements hence maintaining interest and attracting more people each year. I believe this a blueprint worthy to be looked into and possible suggest as best practice for the presentation of monuments of colonial history of Ghana.

The youth have their dreams tall like the Jamestown lighthouse and with profound ambitions to add to the folklore of the historic district through contemporary art. However, the inevitable question still remains, is the "Chale Wote" street art festival old and worthy enough to be patented/added to the long list of rich cultural festivals that unites and personifies our unique identity and heritage as Ghanaian?  I’ll leave that to the National House of Chiefs to decide. 
That notwithstanding, what I am very certain about is, adding this extraordinary festival to your bucket list of holiday destinations is one recommendation you will forever be thankful to me for. 

Catch you there in August next year!

Pictures from previous editions of the festival.

Reference:

http://accradotaltradio.com/chale-wote-street-art-festival/

https://travel.jumia.com/blog/gh/10-things-know-about-chale-wote-festival-1306

And so it began... | Nadya Bogdanova

Busy student cafeteria in Nador 15? Check. Laptop? Check. OneNote app? Check. Big book? Check.  Ticking all of those boxes can mean just one thing: I've started working on my thesis. 

On October 11 I had my first thesis meeting at the department. Professor Laszlovszky introduced me to Cristian Gaspar, and we had a productive discussion of my project. Both Joska and Cristian reassured me that the area of my interest is worth investigating but they also pointed out that I need to concentrate on finding my precise focus and formulate my research question in a way that it will be possible to come up with satisfactory answers to it (we had talked about it in the second session of Presenting Cultural Heritage class so I was already thinking about that by this time!). 

I decided to be honest with myself and agreed that my initial goal of "rebranding the Buryat language in order to promote its learning and usage" might sound great and world-changing enough but I had  to be real. Let's be honest: as smart and hard-working (and humble) as I am, I can't rebrand the language by myself. What I can do is to research one area that will allow to see why the Buryat language is in danger, what is done to help the situation and what the perspectives are. 

In my case, I think, it will be the attitude towards the Buryat language. Since the Soviet times, there's been the hard stigma of speaking this language: it was (and still is) associated with being un-educated, non-refined, even "uncivilized" while speaking Russian without accent has always been praised and made you eligible to belong to higher levels of society. For people of my generation this attitude has deepened by associating the Buryat language with something old-fashioned and dull. TV slots in Buryat, pop music in Buryat, newspapers - they all seem to be frozen in time and belong to the 1960s. 

However, the situation has started to change. Sporadically, but it is happening. There are young and "cool" people who learn the language, try to use it in everyday life, open social media accounts aimed at promoting the language by creating memes and funny videos. They even rap in the Buryat! 

So my research will lie somewhere there. Between media and rap! 

It is still quite vague but Cristian - as my potential supervisor - told me that eventually I will come up with the precise research question. 

In the meantime (when not listening to rap), I'm planning to work on several things to determine my further journey: 

• Define terms that will be crucial for my research. Some of them are: intangible cultural heritage, endangered language, language policy, language management, language attitude, linguistic identity;
• Read the recommended literature on endangered languages and language policy; 
• Read papers and books on language attitude and language perception and try to draw analogies;
• Study deeply federal and local policy documents concerning national and minority languages in Russia;
• Look for a particular direction in which I can illustrate the language attitude and ways of controlling / changing it (social media discourse, popular culture, art, TV etc.).

It is going to be fun.

To be continued.

Primary sources and the road to madness| Nadin Helmi

I start thinking about this topic 2 years ago, while I was working at the Egyptian center for economic and social rights in Egypt, we were excited to lunch a campaign including different NGOs, activists, and academics aimed to preserve heritage buildings in Alexandria from being demolished after the revolution. We held a number of roundtables, meetings, and events to discuss the issue from different perspectives and suggest solutions. A significant meeting changed my life latterly, that day as we were discussing the legal issues which were one of the main reasons why the buildings are being demolished in Egypt. After an intense 3 hours discussion, I decided to investigate the issue myself although I don’t have a legal background and this is when the madness started!

After a year of only reading legal documents I decided that will be my thesis topic: how the complex system and legal gaps led to the demolish of heritage buildings in Egypt and I've chosen Alexandria as a case study for 2 reasons; firstly I love Alexandria, (I guess more than Alexander the great did)  secondly, is related to community efforts and officials to protect the city heritage after the deconstruct of tens of buildings the past five years.

And the question was: how to start!?!?

1.       Heritage and monuments protection laws

I started by reading the monuments and antique laws in Egypt and its Executive Regulations. According to the first article, the law is protecting a specific type of buildings " to be a product of the Egyptian civilization or the successive civilization or the creation of art, sciences, literature, or religions that took place on the Egyptian lands since the pre-history ages and during the successive historic ages till before 100 years" then I was thinking that heritage buildings maybe not part of the protected buildings in this law?

After digging deeper, I realized that there is a new relatively law had been enforced since 2006 for the protection of those type of buildings, the law defined "Heritage buildings" as "buildings and structures of outstanding architectural style that are associated with the national history or a historic personality. That represents a historic era or that is considered a tourist attraction the foregoing shall be implemented without breaching any legal compensation" and to get a better understanding I had to read the following executive regulations. But is it enough?? for me the answer is negative…. I need to understand how did they come up with this law and why?

2.       Parliament discussions and memos

In order to answer this question, I had to look through different parliament sessions and memos to find when the law had been discussed and approved (as required by the Egyptian Constitution).  I learned a lot about the concept of preservation from a legal perspective and also discovered that the government suggested the law after a problem followed the issuance of a court ruling which revoked prime minister's official decision to prohibit the demolish of palaces and villas in Egypt, which led me to my 3rd and 4th source.

3.       Official decisions

To be able to find all previous decisions issued by Egyptian's officials, I had to subscribe to a private online service "east laws" which publishes all official decrees since the establishment of the official newspaper in Egypt (all official decrees had to be published in this newspaper to be effective).

And due to the fact, that, we don’t have a collective heritage list, I had to go through hundreds of documents to be able to calculate how many buildings had been registered in Egypt since the law required the issuance of an official decree for that matter

4.       Administrative and supreme constitution

I found some of the court rulings online but it was very tricky to find them all and that requires a lawyer's multiple visits to the court's archives. And I decided to use some as an illustration for the law interpretation. 

5.       The national organization for urban harmony official database

The organization is responsible for conserving specific areas for its distinctive value or urban characters including buildings, their website is really helpful as they publish the heritage database for registered and unregistered buildings, yet no information available related to the importance of the building.

The website also includes a guideline for the concept of urban preservation in Egypt, which was really helpful to understand the mindset and the approach towards heritage.

6.       International covenants and charters

Since I started to understand the national level of protection by reviewing all the laws and decrees, I thought I need to understand how the heritage is being protected internationally and that led me directly off course to WHL, the documents attached to each site and reports provides mostly a full picture around the importance of the site and different protection levels.

7.       Interviews

And then I start to think about the community approach towards preserving the heritage and spotted many situations when the local community challenged demolishing heritage buildings or attempted to protect a landscape from being distorted by the construction of new concrete buildings. For that matter, I will need to interview several cultural activists in Alexandria and meet some of the community representatives to document and understand their motives.

During this journey I had to read and understand thousands of legal documents, although my head was spinning the whole time, I've learned a lot how to analyze laws and criticize it for that matter. I still have a lot to grasp especially regarding the international protection of heritage and also understand others countries legal system to be able to compare the level of protection even if I will not include it on my thesis!! I don’t know yet.

In the end, I am still thinking about my thesis approach and struggling to find my way around it and I always remember what Frederick Douglass said: "If there is no Struggle, there is no progress."