Similar to human rights, my research in this area seeks to explain the global development and expansion of world heritage since the 19th century. Together with my colleague, Vaughn Schmutz (UNC Charlotte), we have explored various aspects of this phenomenon, such as: the history of the world heritage movement and the global processes that have supported it; growing concerns about tourism and sustainability; the geographic imbalance of world heritage sites; and the extensive verification process that formally evaluates “outstanding universal value” of nominated sites. In the process, we have compiled systematic data about all world heritage sites since the late 1970s, as well as detailed analyses of the technical reports that are used to evaluate these sites. Recently, we have teamed with Michaela DeSoucey (NC State) to explore the global expansion of “intangible” cultural heritage and current efforts to incorporate “sites of conscience” into UNESCO’s world heritage project.
Relevant publications:
- (2012) “World Heritage: Constructing a Universal Cultural Order,” with Vaughn Schmutz. Poetics, 40(3): 256-277.
- (2012) “World Heritage,” with Vaughn Schmutz. In Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization, George Ritzer (ed.), Wiley-Blackwell Publishing: 2264-2265.
- (2012) “World Cultural Heritage: Conventions,” with Vaughn Schmutz, In Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization, George Ritzer (ed.), Wiley-Blackwell Publishing: 2265-2267.
- (2016) “Tourism and Sustainability in the Evaluation of World Heritage Sites, 1980 – 2010,” with Vaughn Schmutz. Sustainability 8(3), 261: 1-14.
- (2016) “Diffusion and Decoupling in the World Heritage Movement: Exploring Global/Local Tensions in Africa,” with Vaughn Schmutz. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 3(2-3): 152-176.
- (2017) “World Heritage and the Scientific Consecration of ‘Outstanding Universal Value,’” with Vaughn Schmutz. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 58(2): 140-159.
- (2018) “Rationalized Authenticity and the Transnational Spread of Intangible Cultural Heritage,” with Michaela DeSoucey & Vaughn Schmutz. Poetics 75 (Article 101332).
- (in progress) “Hurtful Heritage: Sites of Memory and Conscience as UNESCO World Heritage,” with Michaela DeSoucey & Vaughn Schmutz.