 Running through the specific topics discussed below is a set of common themes. One theme concerns a tension between universalism and cultural specificity. On the one hand, there is a pull towards conceiving of cultural heritage as universally valuable, grounding consequent rights or permissions for all concerning its use and ownership. On the other hand, there is a push for culturally specific rights and restrictions that recognize the special claims of particular cultural groups. A related theme concerns the distribution of power among cultural groups and the role that colonial dynamics have played in establishing current patterns of access to, and control over, cultural heritage. A third theme concerns how we understand the composition and boundaries of cultural groups, and whether any such account can avoid charges of essentialism (the idea that there is a necessary “essence” to cultural group membership). As we will see, specific controversies over cultural property, repatriation, cultural appropriation, and heritage preservation, are each shaped by these recurrent themes.