Metaphors of cultural diversity at UNESCO
What is it about?
How do institutions introduce and advocate for a new concept? What role do metaphors play in legitimization and argumentation? This article answers both questions by analyzing metaphors of cultural diversity at UNESCO. I analyze the metaphors of treasure, common heritage, rainbow river, and biodiversity, and show how they play a depoliticizing role by presenting diversity as tension-free, devoid of power relations, economic interests, or historical context.
Why is it important?
I analyze a fuzzy and contested concept that has been and continues to be the object of many divergent interpretations. By analyzing the discourse of international institutions that must cater to opposing political needs and interests, I find specific rhetorical strategies that try to reconcile and simplify complex realities. I differentiate between conventional and creative metaphors, I show how these play distinct argumentative roles.