Cultural Heritage Management - (Cultural Heritage Studies) by Phyllis Mauch Messenger & George S Smith (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Scholars seeking a survey of the current status of national cultural heritage and cultural property legislation and regulations need look no further. Cultural Heritage Management brings together a worldwide selection of experts to explore both how--and how successfully--different nations deal with the past."--Alex W. Barker, University of Missouri, Columbia

"Represents a valuable contribution to the field of heritage studies. Taking a global perspective, it raises issues of significant concern to heritage practitioners and scholars alike."--John Carman, University of Birmingham, UK

Even as places and objects that have particular cultural significance are increasingly valued in our global world, powerful forces threaten them with destruction. Cultural Heritage Management discusses the efforts of a broad range of contributors devoted to safeguarding our cultural heritage.

Editors Phyllis Mauch Messenger and George Smith have brought together an international group of contributors, featuring archaeologists, anthropologists, development specialists, and others engaged in the study, management, protection, and interpretation of places and objects that represent histories, traditions, and cultural identities.

From international law to artifact preservation to site interpretation, there is a wide variety of approaches to the management of our cultural heritage. Combining the voices of scholars and practitioners, the book provides a much-needed diversity of voices and perspectives from people steeped in the issues that directly affect the future of the past.

Review Quotes

"An extremely useful resource with which to compare different management systems."--Museum Anthropology Review


"Messenger and Smith lead an international and broad group of experts, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, and development specialists, who explain how different nations approach their cultural heritage."--Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development

"Provides truly international coverage and real life evidence of cultural heritage management by consolidating under one cover cases from a broad geographic and governmental base."--Journal of Tourism History


"The world's political economy has transformed throughout the past century, endangering many communities and threatening their tangible and intangible heritage resources. . . . Cultural Heritage Management addresses a wide array of issues . . . and offers valuable avenues for further discussion as the concept of cultural heritage rapidly evolves."--American Indian Culture & Research Journal

About the Author

Phyllis Mauch Messenger, editor of The Ethics of Collecting Cultural Property and coeditor of Heritage Values in Contemporary Society, serves as grants consultant for the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota and was the founding director of the Center for Anthropology and Cultural Heritage Education at Hamline University. George S. Smith, courtesy professor of anthropology at Florida State University, is coeditor of Heritage Values in Contemporary Society, Teaching Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century, and Protecting the Past. He is an expert member of the ICOMOS International Committee on Archaeological Heritage and a Fulbright Specialist Program scholar.