Vanessa Rousseau on “Looted Art and Archaeology: A Brief History and Discussion in honor of International Archaeology Day"

Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 6pm in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall in the Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, Macalester College

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34051870

In recent months, the world has watched the destruction of cultural property alongside the humanitarian crisis in Syria and elsewhere. To honor the losses as well as International Archaeology Day, this talk will present a brief overview of the history of looting and the destruction of art, archaeology and cultural property from antiquity to the present. After putting the current assault on cultural heritage into historical perspective, we will consider the mercenary and ideological motivations for looting and destruction, as well as the challenges and potential solutions to this growing problem. I hope that a robust discussion about the issues and approaches to the problem will follow.

About the speaker: Vanessa Rousseau is president of the Minnesota Society of the Archaeology Institute of America, antiquities consultant for the Weisman Art Museum, visiting assistant professor at Macalester College and specialist for wall painting and skoutlosis for the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis. Dr. Rousseau's work focuses on reconstructing the effect of ancient interiors and the presentation and authentication of archaeological collections. Her publications can be found here.

*Location and parking information can be found here (#29 on the map)

A no-host dinner with the speaker will follow the lecture at Pad Thai Grand, 1681 Grand Avenue, St. Paul.