Difficult history : saving Yangon from colonial nostalgia

Abstract

Using the form of an essay I discuss the preservation of built heritage from the 'difficult' histories of colonialism and enslavement, linking together the global stories of oppression through colonialism and slavery to the global tourism and pressure for economic growth today. I focus on Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma), which has the world's largest collection of Victorian and Edwardian colonial architecture. Years of active neglect by the military government have preserved these aging structures, but this era is coming to an end amid with often conflicting pressures to modernize and campaigns to actively restore the historic downtown. In this thesis I explore the politics of preservation and the market forces of international tourism that have led to nostalgic restorations of colonial relations for elite travelers.