Irene Chen

Irene (Kunxiu) Chen

Year of Entry: 2024

Research: Ongoing research Title: Control over and Govern Digital Contested Cultural Belongings in English Museums.

Ongoing Research Core Question: in What Ways, and to What Extent, is the Institutional Contorl Exercised by English Museum over Digital Contested Cultural Belongings Justified?

Supervisor(s): Charlotte Woodhead

Email: Kunxiu.Chen@warwick.ac.uk

Bio

Irene(Kunxiu) is a PhD candidate at the School of Law at the University of Warwick. Her research examines the institutional control exercised by English museums over digital cultural heritage, with particular attention to contested cultural belongings and questions of legal and ethical justification. Her work sits at the intersection of cultural heritage law, copyrigth law, trust law, museum management, and cultural heritage studies.

She is a student member of the Museums Association, English Heritage, and Art Fund. She very welcomes conversations with researchers and practitioners who share similar interests in cultural heritage, museums, and digital governance.

Research

Research Title:

In the context of growing demands for public access, to what extent and in what ways can UK museums govern access to and control over digital cultural heritage in order to mitigate risks to cultural sensitivities and uphold the cultural rights of countries and communities of origin?

Supervisor(s):

Charlotte Woodhead

Areas of Interest:

Cultural Heritage Law; Museums; Digital Collections; Reparation and Restitution; Reproduction and Replica; Countries and Communities of Origin; Copyright; Trust; Foucault; Path Dependence; Colonialism and Postcolonialism

Additional Information

Student Representation

Chair of the Student Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) for PGR students in the School of Law at the University of Warwick. In this role, she facilitates communication between PGRs and the Warwick Law School.

Student Experience

She is also interested in issues relating to the academic and social experiences of Chinese students studying in the United Kingdom, particularly questions concerning cross cultural academic engagement and student support.