Madison Leeson

Dr Leeson is a cultural historian of the modern Middle East, focusing on the ways in which cultural heritage is leveraged for political legitimacy and the consolidation of identity. She is currently working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Digital Humanities at the Centre for Cultural Heritage Technology (CCHT) in Venice, Italy. She received her PhD in Archaeology and History of Art (Cultural Heritage Management) from Koç University (2022) in Istanbul, Turkey. She also holds an MA in Heritage Management from the University of Kent (2019) and MA in Heritage Management from the Athens University of Economics and Business (2019). Her research highlights local and state-level projects of heritage management in the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman successor states throughout the 20th century, focusing on how these campaigns articulated the ambitions of foreign, imperial powers as well as the goals of the rising republics. She has also consulted on antiquities protection policy and institutional strategies to prevent the illicit trade in cultural goods, and has presented research at conferences in Canada, the United States, Vietnam, and Iraq.