CRITICISM OF CULTURAL RELATIVIST ATTITUDES IN FOLKLORE STUDIES

Cultural relativism is based on the idea that the culture is original rather than cross-cultural comparisons. According to this understanding, rituals and practices in a cultural circle are not evaluated with an external understanding and can not be debated. At this point, differences emerged between developing universal values based on Western modernism and original cultures. Perhaps the most criticized aspect of cultural relativism is insensitivity to human rights and women’s problems. In this paper, cultural relativistic attitudes frequently encountered in folklore research has been discussed critically. On the other hand discrimination and folklore relation were questioned in the context of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW Decisions