Intangible Cultural Heritage in Micro-Short Dramas: Digital Storytelling, Cultural Transmission, and Creative Transformation

Special Issue Overview

The rapid development of short-form video platforms has given rise to micro-short dramas as a prominent mode of digital storytelling. Characterized by concise narratives, high accessibility, and strong platform-driven dissemination, micro-short dramas are increasingly shaping contemporary cultural consumption patterns. In this evolving media landscape, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is undergoing new forms of representation, reinterpretation, and circulation.

This Special Issue aims to explore how micro-short dramas function as a dynamic medium for the preservation, transmission, and creative transformation of intangible cultural heritage. It seeks to examine the ways in which traditional cultural elements are recontextualized within digital environments, how narrative forms adapt to platform logics, and how audiences engage with heritage through emerging audiovisual formats.

 

Guest Editor

Dr. Dong Shu Website ORCID

Research Fellow, School of Art and Media, Qingdao Binhai University, China

Research interests: Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies ,Anthropology of Art, Communication Studies.

 

Dr. Yihan Wang Website ORCID

Research Fellow, Sichuan University Jinjiang College, China

Research interests: heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, rural design, and traditional village protection.

 

Dr. Fan Lin Website ORCID

Research Fellow, School of Media and Art Design, Wenzhou Business College, China

Research interests: preservation and innovation of regional culture, user behavior studies, and design theory and methodology.

 

We welcome interdisciplinary contributions from fields such as media and communication studies, cultural studies, anthropology, digital humanities, creative industries, and related disciplines. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Digital storytelling and narrative strategies in micro-short dramas

  • Representation and reinterpretation of intangible cultural heritage

  • Cultural transmission in the age of short-form video platforms

  • Platformization, algorithms, and cultural visibility

  • Audience engagement, participation, and identity construction

  • Creative transformation and cultural innovation

  • Cultural IP development and commercialization of heritage

  • Policy, ethics, and sustainability of intangible cultural heritage in digital contexts

 

Manuscripts should present original research and should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review in accordance with the journal’s editorial policy.

Submissions should follow the author guidelines available on the journal’s website.

Submission Deadline: 30th of Sep. 2026

Accepted papers will be published under the continuous publication model.

 

Contact:

For inquiries regarding this special issue, please contact:

 

Editorial Office

Journal of Global Humanities and Social Sciences (GHSS)

Email: ghss@bonfuturepress.com