Exploring Art History: Destruction, Plunder, and Preservation

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the discipline of art history through the themes of art's destruction, looting, and preservation across world cultures. Through important artworks studied within their cultural and historical contexts, we will explore topics including the looting and plunder of objects for political and economic purposes, the willful destruction of material culture as a means of cultural erasure, and evolving ideas of ownership and cultural heritage as a common human right. We will consider ethical implications and obligations, and current cultural heritage debates over contested objects and monuments from around the world.