Newcastle University

Alumna, International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies

Thesis Title: Outside Museum Walls: Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

About

In October, 2010, I completed my doctoral research within the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies at Newcastle University, where I was supported by an Overseas Research Scholarship from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the university's Robinson Bequest Bursary.  Drawing from the fields of anthropology, sociology, and more specifically, cultural policy and heritage studies, my PhD examined multi-scalar conceptualizations of intangible cultural heritage, its expression at the local level and ways in which it can be effectively safeguarded by those who practice, change and embody it.

In 2004, I was awarded with distinction an MA in International Museum Studies from Gothenburg University in Sweden.  I hold a BA in the History of Art and Architecture, and another in the Visual Arts, from Brown University in Providence, USA.  I have also worked within several museums in Europe and the New York area.

I am currently Program Coordinator of Maryland Traditions at the Maryland State Arts Council, a program that seeks to sustain urban, suburban, rural, 'old' and 'new' cultural expressions within the state. I am also the Folklorist-in-Residence in the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

Keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage, Cultural Expressions, Folk Tradition, Folklore, Museology, Ecomuseology, Ecomuseum, UNESCO