Professor Karen Leigh Harris

Professor Karen Leigh Harris is a full professor in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies at the University of Pretoria, lecturing undergraduate and postgraduate students in history as well as heritage and cultural tourism. Apart from being appointed the new Head of Department of Historical and Heritage Studies, she is also the Director of the University Archives; the Chairperson of the Historical Association of South Africa; Executive Board Member of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas. She is coordinator and chief researcher for the research projects conducted for the National Department of Tourism. She also holds editorial positions on both local and international academic journals. Her most recent publication on tourism. “Taking History of Tour: Lowering the disciplinary drawbridge”, appeared in the Journal of Tourism History, in 2017. Apart from being a pioneer in the field of heritage and cultural tourism at tertiary level, Prof. Harris also conducts comparative work on minority groups within a South African context.