Kathryn LaFrenz Samuels

This research examines the emergence of international policies for heritage management, and their translation across various contexts, to question how “the past” produces authority on the global stage. How and why is heritage mobilized to negotiate socio-political and economic relationships, particularly those relationships mediating between the “local” and global? If globalization has been deconstructed to reveal instead vast networks of experts, then this dissertation questions how expertise establishes authority and the ability to “travel” across socio-spatial contexts (community, national, international), gaining further authority through these travels. It situates these questions within North Africa and the rising phenomenon of international programs that develop heritage for economic growth.