Monography profile

The aim of the publication is to search for the identity of the cultural region on the basis of the elements of traditional culture. It presents in text and image part of the results of interdisciplinary research on between ethnology and design science.
The focus is on the Central Region of Slovakia: Podpoľanie, its genesis, specifics, and the application of traditional elements in contemporary material production. It is the result of current thinking about living cultural heritage and its functions, meanings, its management by regional actors within the European Union, commodification by local people, and the potential for development of the region. It responds to the conventions on the protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage within the framework of UNESCO. The methodological starting point is a historical approach and thereby making the results visible through field research on the local living cultural heritage. The section on research and interpretation focuses on the identification and sustainability of the observed elements of traditional culture and highlighting examples of good practice with an emphasis on design and potential for further interpretation in the contemporary design of products, spaces and services. The research in Podpoľanie focused on thematic areas: nature and traditional agriculture, architecture and construction, craft and design and employment, catering and traditional cuisine, and culture.
This publication is the first monograph in the series Regional Material Culture: Background for Contemporary Practice; other regions of Slovakia are planned to be published within this series. The interdisciplinary APVV Identity SK - a common design platform, Architecture and Social Sciences initiated this project. The main objective of this research and development project was to capture and document what of the traditional material culture in the regions of Slovakia is alive and could be viable prospectives for regional development.