Email: escolaro@unc.edu
Phone:
Office: 303C
Areas of Interest:
Cultural heritage preservation, museum anthropology, illicit antiquities trade, repatriation, tourism, Cambodia, international development.
Education:
MSc Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, 2020
BS International Development, Ohio State University, 2016
Background:
I am a sociocultural anthropologist interested in cultural heritage preservation in Southeast Asia with a focus on the illicit antiquities trade. I specifically look at temple looting in Cambodia in the context of museums and post-colonial heritage repatriation.
This focus stems from my experience at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute facilitating the repatriation of looted Iraqi artifacts to the Baghdad Museum in 2019; it enabled me to examine the intersection of anthropology with international relations and development.
I received my BS in International Development from Ohio State in 2016 following the completion of a research project focused on tourism, heritage, and nationalism in Java, Indonesia. In 2020, I received my MSc in Social Anthropology from Oxford University.
Recent publications:
Thames, Knox, and Scolaro, Emily. “Freedom of Religion or Belief and Cultural Heritage
Protection: Synergistic not Competitive,” Review of Faith and International Affairs 20, no. 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2022.2065811.
Thames, Knox, Mandaville, Peter, and Scolaro, Emily. “Finding Common Ground on U.S.
International Religious Freedom Policy.” United States Institute of Peace, May 20, 2021. https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/05/finding-common-ground-us-international-religious-freedom-policy.