Tourism, Heritage, and Sacred Space in China

Dr. Bob Shepherd will speak on the relationship between heritage projects, tourism, and economic development in China by focusing on the Buddhist pilgrimage destination of Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province at the Sigur Center in Washington, DC.

Bob Shepherd holds a B.A. in political science and history from the University of Delaware, an M.A. in history from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. He began to teach courses at George Washington University in 2003, and was appointed an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Honors in 2006.

Although the Chinese government has become one of the most prominent supporters of the UNESCO-led World Heritage movement, the economic, political and bureaucratic reasons for this are often at cross-purposes with the preservationist goals of UNESCO. This presentation will examine the relationship between heritage projects, tourism, and economic development in China by focusing on the Buddhist pilgrimage destination of Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, which was added to the UNESC World Heritage list in 2009.

Dr. Shepherd's work on tourism, cultural heritage issues, and the side effects of market changes in China has appeared in Southeast Asia Research, Consumption, Markets, and Culture, the International Journal of Cultural Studies, and the Journal of Contemporary Asia, among other publications. His book, When Culture Goes to the Market: The Politics of Space, Place and Identity in an Urban Marketplace (Peter Lang) was published in 2008.

Please RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/ShepherdJan19 by Monday, January 17, 2011.