Exploring the looting and illicit trade of cultural heritage, with a focus on Asian documentary heritage and cultures. Situated at the interdisciplinary intersections of crime, culture, and postcolonial theory.
<aside> đź“„ Peer-reviewed research
Saymour, Isra Samara. 2024. “Spurious provenance, repeated movement, and dodgy taxes”: Provenance practices and the legitimation of loot.” Under review at Poetics.
Saymour, Isra Samara. 2022. “The Oilfields of Mesopotamia: Resource Conflict, Oil Extraction, and Heritage Dispossession in Iraq.” Human Geography.
Saymour, Isra Samara. 2021. “Loss, Legality, and Preservation: a Legal Case Study of the Repatriation of the G’psgolox Totem Pole,” Manuscript. For submission to the International Journal of Heritage Studies.
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<aside> 🎙️ Peer-reviewed talks
Saymour, Isra Samara. 2022. “The G'psgolox Totem Pole: A Socio-Legal Retelling of Loss & Return, in Six Acts.” Paper presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the Canadian Sociological Association.
Saymour, Isra. 2021. “Crushing Culture, Dismantling Defiance: the Politics of Mesopotamian Museology.” Paper presented at National Museums: Narrating the Nation, Dublin.
Saymour, Isra. 2020. “Crime at The Museum: Culture, Contradictions, and Legitimacy at the Royal Ontario Museum.” Paper presented at Context and Meaning XX: Art and Crime, Kingston, ON.
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