Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Rita Padawangi, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

This talk examines regionalism and nationalism in Asia through the lens of heritage diplomacy.  An important but under-researched theme of the story of internationalism and globalisation over the course of the twentieth century has been the history of conservation and rise of institutions associated with the governance of culture and nature. This presentation takes up such themes via the framework of heritage diplomacy in Asia. The steady ascendency of a language of heritage in Asia since World War II and years of decolonisation is read as an ongoing dance between nationalism and internationalism, played out between a number of state-based and inter-governmental agencies. While the appropriation of the cultural past for commercial and political purposes has long been widespread throughout much of the region, it will be argued important shifts are now occurring, as the scale of the political moves from the national to the regional.

Using examples from Singapore, India, North and South Korea, and recent world heritage committee meetings, the paper explores how heritage conservation is fast emerging as an important arena of international relations in Asia, one through which states increasingly invoke discourses of civilisation as part of their diplomatic strategies. This use of heritage conservation aid as an agent of soft power also has broader implications. The paper concludes by illustrating why international conservation and heritage governance might be entering historically important phases, as non-Western modes of governance find newfound legitimacy on the international stage.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Tim Winter is Research Professor at the Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific, Deakin University, Melbourne, and currently a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Cultural Studies in Asia Cluster. He has published widely on heritage, development, modernity, urban conservation, tourism and heritage diplomacy in Asia. Tim has been a consultant for the World Bank, Getty Conservation Institute, World Monuments Fund and Japanese Team for Safeguarding Angkor, and been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge, The Getty and University College London, Qatar. His recent books include The Routledge Handbook of Heritage in Asia and Shanghai Expo: an international forum on the future of cities. During his time at ARI, he is working on a book and articles around the theme of heritage diplomacy. This project re-reads the history of the modern conservation movement through the frames of global governance, actor network theory and the interplay between nationalism and internationalism. In seeking to understand recent developments in Asia, the project draws on fieldwork from Myanmar, India, Cambodia and East Asia. His other key research interest at present focuses on urban sustainability, air-conditioning, and the viability of tradition based low-carbon alternatives in Southeast Asia and the Arabian Gulf.

REGISTRATION

Admission is free. We would greatly appreciate if you RSVP Sharon via email:arios@nus.edu.sg