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As cultural diversity emerges as a new paradigm, giving rise to the figure of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, national states tend to narrate their cultural heritages from the perspective of this new paradigm. Nationalist and cosmopolitan conceptions of society and history mingle in narratives that struggle to make sense of both conceptions at once. Especially relevant is the use of cosmopolitan arguments -here paired with the contemporary peak of gastronomy- to regenerate often dusted national values. This book explores the challenges that the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention poses in terms of a renegotiation with the national pasts that is often necessary to formulate an intangible cultural heritage, particularly when there are indigenous peoples involved. The unlikely marriage of modern gastronomy, cultural and international politics, and the shifting balance of power between economic and cultural forces makes of this book a refreshing attempt to understanding some of the most paradoxical issues of our times, and it will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of food, international relations, consumption, tourism and globalisation.

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Ricardo Mazatán-Páramo studied Communication Studies at the UVM (Mexico). In 2003 he moved to England. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Essex. He has worked in the field of social communication and advertising, taught a variety of subjects in different levels, written poetry and short stories, and is now writing his second novel.

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