Cost and Registration Information
Early Registration Price (by February 10): $160
Regular Price (after February 10): $176
Please Note: The seminars brochure listed the meeting time for this class incorrectly. The correct meeting time is 6 - 7:30 pm.
Seminar Description
The destruction of Mosul's museums and archaeological zones by ISIS in 2015, combined with the black market sale of the region's historical artifacts, has shocked the world. However, the theft and sale of these items has been occurring for centuries in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America for over 250 years. Through readings, lectures, and discussion, we will examine the political and economic structures in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America that have historically allowed for the international pillage of these antiquities. We will also explore national attempts to prevent this destructive trade. Four sessions.
Seonaid Valiant, PhD specializes in the history of art, archaeology, and antiquities in Mexico. Her forthcoming book, Ornamental Nationalism: Archaeology and Antiquities in Mexico, 1876-1911, examines the professionalization of archaeology at the turn of the twentieth century.
Materials List
Required:
- Roger Atwood, Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and the Looting of the Ancient World. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-0312324070
- Sharon Waxman, Loot: The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World. New York: Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0805090888
Recommended:
- Milbry Polk and Angela M.H. Schuster, The Looting of the Iraq Museum Baghdad: The Lost Legacy of Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Abrams, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0810958722
First Readings:
- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/isis-fighters-destroy-ancient-artefacts-mosul-museum-iraq
- https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/09/30/ISIS-selling-Iraq-s-artifacts-in-black-market.html
This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.