Rachel Heatherly (KCL) - 2022-23 Students
rachel.heatherly@kcl.ac.uk

The value of Heritage Diplomacy: how, why and to what end material heritage plays a role in UK diplomacy

My research investigates the practice and impact of UK heritage diplomacy, focusing specifically on material heritage (buildings, monuments and artefacts). Through interviews, ethnography and the lived practitioner experience, this research will develop the nascent heritage diplomacy discourse, bridging the gap between cultural studies and international relations. It will go further than the latter in considering the roles and motivations of the full range of diplomatic actors, and deeper than conventional cultural studies in disaggregating material heritage from the wider cultural milieu. The results will inform theoretic and practitioner understanding of the value of heritage assets as diplomatic levers.

Primary supervisor: Dr Melissa Nisbett, KCL
Secondary supervisor: Dr Ruth Adams, KCL