Natali Pearson

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Dr Natali Pearson is a Senior Lecturer in critical heritage studies at the University of Sydney, with Adjunct Academic Status at Flinders University. She is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, and is affiliated through her research with the Discipline of Archaeology (School of Humanities).

Natali's research focuses on maritime heritage in Southeast Asia, with current projects focusing on orphaned objects from the sea, shared heritage through museum collections, and maritime heritage diplomacy and sunken warships in Southeast Asia. Her first book, "Belitung: The Afterlives of a Shipwreck," is published by the University of Hawai'i Press (2022) and NUS Press (2023).

Natali is President of the Indonesia Council, a sub-regional association of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, and has served as a Councillor for the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology since 2019. She is an Expert Member of the ICOMOS International Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management and on the Editorial Board of The Great Circle. She is also host of the SSEAC Stories podcast, syndicated globally on the New Books in Southeast Asia network.

She has worked at the Asia Society’s galleries in New York and Hong Kong, and as a consultant to the Asia Society Arts & Museum Summit. She is an alumni of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (2000) and the Asialink Leaders Program (2009). Prior to this, she worked in Asia-focused defence and anti-money laundering / counter-terrorism financing roles in the Australian federal government.

PhD, Museum and Heritage Studies, The University of Sydney. 2019.
Master of Museum Studies, The University of Sydney. 2013.
Master of Arts (Strategy and Policy Studies), UNSW@ADFA. 2007.
Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies), Honours Class One. The University of New South Wales. 2002.

Experience

  • 2018–present
    Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, University of Sydney

Education

  • 2019 
    University of Sydney, PhD
  • 2013 
    University of Sydney, Master of Museum Studies
  • 2007 
    University of New South Wales, Master of Arts (Strategy and Policy)
  • 2002 
    University of New South Wales, Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) Hons Class 1

Publications

  • 2024
    The Multispecies Shipwreck, International Journal of Heritage Studies
  • 2024
    Reuniting Orphaned Cargoes: Recovering cultural knowledge from salvaged and dispersed underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia, Marine Policy
  • 2023
    Saving Two Fish with One Wreck: Maximizing synergies in marine biodiversity conservation and underwater cultural heritage protection, Marine Policy
  • 2023
    Diplomatic Timebombs? Southeast Asia’s sunken warships, Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology
  • 2023
    Too Little, Too Late? Redefining the Legacy of HMAS Perth (I), an Australian warship sunk in Indonesian waters, Historical Archaeology
  • 2022
    Belitung: The afterlives of a shipwreck, University of Hawai‘i Press
  • 2022
    Resisting Internationalism? The evolution of Indonesia’s shipwreck legislation, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde

Grants and Contracts

  • 2024
    Interpreting Shared Histories through Southeast Asian Maritime Collections (AAC2023-114)
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australia-ASEAN Council
  • 2022
    Reuniting Cargoes: Underwater cultural heritage of the Maritime Silk Route (LP210200165)
    Role:
    Co-Invvestigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council
  • 2020
    Maritime Capacity Building Initiative - HMAS Perth (I)
    Role:
    Consultant
    Funding Source:
    Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  • 2020
    Collaborative Approaches to Capacity Building in Indonesian Maritime Archaeology (AII2020412)
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australia-Indonesia Institute

Professional Memberships

  • Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology
  • Asian Studies Association of Australia

Research Areas

  • Museum Studies (210204)
  • Asian History (210302)
  • Archaeology Of Asia, Africa And The Americas (210103)
  • Maritime Archaeology (210110)

Contact Natali for

  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration