Biography

Dr. Alicia V. Stevens is co-coodinator of the Heritage Pillar of MIT’s Center for Comparative Global Humanities. She is a Gates Cambridge Scholar who holds a DPhil and MPhil from the University of Cambridge, an MSc. from Columbia University, and a BA from the University of Michigan. Her doctorate interrogates cultural heritage amid a context of extreme socio-political uncertainty and transition, with focus on Burma/Myanmar since 1824 and the country’s difficult legacy of colonial and military oppression and civilian revolution. Arguing for transferring the concept of contemporary liminality from political anthropology into critical heritage studies, the doctorate unpacks the ways that cultural heritage, extreme political transition, and social uncertainty interact. Her research interests are in the political uses of culture during periods of liminal crisis, with particular focus on ‘trickster’ uses of violence and conspiracy theories by authoritarian actors and the often tactically ambiguous, even humorous responses that their actions illicit from creative publics – from Myanmar to the United States. She has authored journal articles, book chapters, and is currently turning her thesis into a book (upcoming 2024/5). Prior to Cambridge, Dr. Stevens directed global strategies and programs at Columbia University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Explorers Club.

Previous Education

Columbia University
University of Cambridge

Links

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-alicia-victoria-stevens-93466a17