Julie Deschepper

Dr. Julie Deschepper is an Assistant Professor in Heritage and Museum Studies at Utrecht University's Department of History and Art History, within the Faculty of Humanities. She specializes in the material culture of socialism, particularly focusing on Soviet heritage in Russia and post-Socialist contexts. Her work bridges cultural history, critical heritage studies, and art history, emphasizing heritage as a nexus of discourses, practices, and experiences.

Dr. Deschepper holds a PhD from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO, Paris), awarded the Inalco Best PhD Prize 2019. Her monograph Les temps du patrimoine. Une histoire matérielle de la Russie (1917-2017) examines Soviet heritagization processes and contributes to non-Western heritage scholarship. She co-founded the Research Collective on Contemporary Russia (CORUSCANT) and co-coordinates the Francophone Network of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.

Her research on the weaponization of heritage during the Ukraine war and exhibitions such as She is made of stone: Women and Monuments in Socialist and Post-Socialist Public Space highlight her interdisciplinary approach. Teaching includes courses in the MA Cultural History and Heritage program, and she co-organizes the Heritage Lab. Previous roles include postdoctoral fellowships at the European University Institute and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max-Planck-Institute), adjunct professorships, and curatorial work in Paris museums.