OAFP 9020 - Cultural heritage ownership(s) challenged : repairing memories and provenance turn

Since the end of the 2010s, it seems that the five-decades old growing debate on claims of cultural goods and restitutions took a new turn, with new governmental and institutional initiatives both in the “post-/decolonial West” and in new emerging cultural powers. Role plays on restorative justice, conservative taboos on provenance seem to be progressively leading to more collaborative forms of sharing memories, either through new perspectives for the circulation of works of art beyond repatriation, ownership issues or the competitive markets of outrage and of repentance in an unhappy globalisation.

This seminar proposes :

An introduction to the legal frameworks (in international law and private law) used in the fight against destruction or illicit trafficking of cultural heritage ;

A context-informed approach of the varieties of historical contexts and geographies involved and the way they orient current evolutions ;

A typology of players (governments, institutions, auction houses, private owners, collectors, police forces, experts etc.), arguments and agendas (research, access, law implementation, national / political) that are currently challenging or re-inventing the notions of heritage and of the universal museum.

None

Thematic sessions of 2 hours teaching by the lecturer, with 1 or 2 case studies presented during the session (in coordination with the lecturer’s material)

Presentation :

Required readings (cf. list)

Small team (2-3p.) presentation on specific case studies presentation (15 min.) : collective research and preparation.

Final project (groups of 4-5 p.) on art & culture education on provenance and ownership.