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CSEAS Colloquium with Dr. Michael Falser, March, 22, 2017
2017/03/22 @ 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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Date: Wednesday, March, 22, 2017, 16:00-
Venue: Middle-sized Meeting Room (No. 332) 3rd Floor, Inamori Foundation Building, Kyoto University
Speaker: Dr. Michael Falser
Visiting professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Letters
Commentator: Andrea Flores Urushima, CSEAS
Abstract:
This presentation unravels the formation of the modern concept of
cultural heritage by charting its colonial, postcolonial-nationalist and
global trajectories. By bringing to light many unresearched dimensions
of the 12th Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat during its modern history,
this presentation argues for a conceptual, connected history that
unfolded within the transcultural interstices of European and Asian
projects. It discusses the multiple lives of Angkor Wat from its ‘
discovery’ in the 19th century, and its physical representations in
museums and universal/colonial exhibitions in France, to on-site
restoration efforts inside the ‘Archaeological Park of Angkor’, the
temple’s canonization as a symbol of national identity during Cambodia
’s decolonization, and as a global icon being produced during the late
Cold War period and as a star on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Michael Falser is project leader at the Chair of Global Art History
within the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context.
The Dynamics of Transculturality” at Heidelberg University, Germany. He
is currently visiting professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School
of Letters giving an Intense Lecture about an “Introduction to Global
Art History”. Besides a focus on the Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat and
the history of its representation in French colonial and universal
exhibitions from 1867 until 1937 (the content of this talk), his
research also focuses on regionalist building styles in late colonial
empires in Asia. His general research foci are on art and architectural
history, historic preservation and cultural heritage studies.