HIST 101: World History to 1500 - Harding

Ebook. "Few artefacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes... The Brutish Museums sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. Since its first publication, museums across the western world have begun to return their Bronzes to Nigeria, heralding a new era in the way we understand the collections of empire we once took for granted."

Ebook. "Going beyond strictly legal and property-oriented aspects of the restitution debate, restitution is considered as part of a larger set of processes of return that affect museums and collections, as well as notions of heritage and object status. Covering a range of case studies and a global geography, the authors aim to historicize and bring depth to contemporary debates in relation to both the return of material culture and human remains."

Ebook. "Since the late 1970s human remains in museum collections have been subject to claims and controversies, such as demands for repatriation by indigenous groups who suffered under colonization. These requests have been strongly contested by scientists who research the material and consider it unique evidence. This book charts the influences at play on the contestation over human remains and examines the construction of this problem from a cultural perspective."

Ebook. "Scott asserts that the deeper meaning of post-colonial cultural property disputes in European history has more to do with how officials of former colonial powers negotiated decolonization, while also creating contemporary understandings of their nations' pasts. As a whole, the book expands the field of cultural restitution studies and offers a more nuanced understanding of the connections drawn between postcolonial national identity making and the extension of cultural diplomacy."

Ebook. "Cultural artefacts, such as those kept and trafficked between art dealers, private collectors and museums, have become increasingly localized in a 'Bermuda triangle' of colonialism, looting and the black market, with their re-emergence resulting in disputes of ownership and claims for return. This interdisciplinary volume provides the first book-length investigation of the changing behaviours resulting from the effect of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property."

Ebook and print book. "Tells the intriguing and sometimes bloody story of how the West came to acquire these treasures over the centuries. She controversially argues that they should remain where they are - in the museums of the West - and should not now be returned to the lands from which they came."

Ebook. "The 'Benin Bronzes' are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like 'visiting relatives behind bars'. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?"

Print book. "For the past two centuries, the West has been plundering the treasures of the ancient world to fill its great museums, but in recent years, the countries where ancient civilizations originated have begun to push back, taking museums to court, prosecuting curators, and threatening to force the return of these priceless objects. Where do these treasures rightly belong?"

Ebook. "Cuno argues that nationalistic retention and reclamation policies impede common access to this common heritage and encourage a dubious and dangerous politicization of antiquities--and of culture itself. Antiquities need to be protected from looting but also from nationalistic identity politics."