Wayde Brown grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada. After studying architecture at Dalhousie University, he worked in architectural offices in Canada and in the African nation of Lesotho. Subsequently, he undertook post-graduate studies in Britain, and holds a Master’s degree in architectural conservation from the University of York, and a PhD in the history and theory of architecture from the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff. For thirteen years Wayde worked for the Province of Nova Scotia, as manager of built heritage programs. He has been at the University of Georgia since 2002, and is currently associate professor. At UGA, Wayde has served on many university committees, and was previously Assistant Dean for Research within the College of Environment & Design. He participates in several preservation and architecture related organizations, both in the US and abroad, and is a professional member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He has presented his research at scholarly conferences in Canada, Britain, Australia, and Sweden, as well as the United States.

History of the historic preservation / heritage conservation movement; development and interpretation of ‘historic sites’, especially the use/role of reconstructions and simulacra; ‘unofficial’ historic sites, and the relationship between historic sites and collective memory, and the many ways in which the past is employed to legitimize the present.