Vanessa Whittington

I am a doctoral candidate with the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. My Doctoral research is in the field of heritage studies, geography and tourism, and investigates visitor responses to recognised places of Aboriginal cultural heritage in Australian national parks, focusing on Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park and the Blue Mountains National Park. In 2017 I was awarded a Master’s Degree in Museum and Heritage Studies, University of Sydney. I also have a Master of Arts (Hons) in Women’s Studies/ Interdisciplinary Studies (UNSW) and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in History and Political Science (ANU).

I has previously worked in senior policy roles for government and non-government agencies with a human services, social justice and social policy focus, including in the community housing and homelessness sectors.

Recent publications include: 'The siege of Union Street’: Working class urban heritage and the politics of remembrance, Historic Environment, Vol 31 Number 1: 82-96; 'Bicentenaries and belonging: Public heritage of the lower Blue Mountains and the politics of place attachment', Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, DOI; 10.1080/20518196.2019.1678812.