Tim Winter

Background

About Tim Winter

A sociologist by training, much of my work centres around the cultural past as a vector of nationalism, diplomacy, geopolitics and economic development. I currently examine China's Belt and Road Initiative as a vast platform for heritage diplomacy. This work develops new knowledge about 21st Century diplomacy and the political drivers of heritage preservation today. The research also addresses the Silk Road as one of the most compelling geocultural concepts of the modern era, and how the idea of its revival in the 21st century is creating new forms of cultural globalization and economic and politics ties across Eurasia. I am also working on a book that conceptualises heritage diplomacy in historical terms. This work addresses the role culture and heritage conservation have played in international relations, and how they come to be institutionally structured via an elaborate dance of cosmopolitanism and national interest. Having previously held positions in Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne, I have recently taken up a professorship in Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Western Australia. Please get in touch if you have thoughts on doing a PhD, a masters in heritage studies or projects related to the Silk Roads.