Cultural Heritage Issues: The Legacy of Conquest, Colonization and Commerce

International Conference at Willamette University

Salem, Oregon
October 12-14, 2006

The 2003 looting of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad generated international discussion about the law and policies of cultural heritage management. How can we protect archaeological sites and museums against looters? Is there a way to curb the illegal trade in stolen art and artifacts? How can we resolve national and international disputes about the repatriation of human remains and artifacts that were displaced as the result of war, genocide, colonization and commerce? Should cultural treasures such as the Elgin marbles or the Benin bronzes be repatriated, and should the 9,000-year-old “Kennewick Man” skeleton be studied by scientists or be reburied?

This conference, open to the public, brings together archaeologists, legal scholars, art historians, museum curators and experts from the FBI and U.S. State Department to debate these questions. More than two dozen internationally recognized experts from Australia, Canada, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Nigeria and the United States will engage the audience in a critical dialogue about the legal and ethical dimensions of cultural heritage issues.

Free Public Lectures

Rogers Music Center, Hudson Hall

Prof. Kwame Anthony Appiah (Princeton), “Who Owns Culture?”
Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m.

Col. Matthew Bogdanos (Asst. District Attorney, New York City), “The Thieves of Bagdhad: The Investigation into the Looting of the Iraq Museum”
Friday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m.

The conference is open to the public. Please register for the conference here.

Conference offered with the cooperation of the:

Financial Support

This conference was made possible in part by a grant from the Oregon Council for the Humanities, a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OCH's grant program.

In addition, this conference has been made possible with the financial support of:

Archaeological Institute of America
www.archaeological.org

Willamette University Canadian Studies Program Enhancement Grant

Willamette University College of Law
www.willamette.edu/wucl

Willamette University College of Liberal Arts
www.willamette.edu/cla

Willamette University Lilly Project
www.willamette.edu/dept/lilly

The Indian Country Conversations Series at Willamette University

The Mark and Janeth Hogue Sponenburgh Fund, Department of Art and Art History, Willamette University

Willamette University History Department
www.willamette.edu/cla/history

Willamette University Religious Studies Department
www.willamette.edu/cla/religion

Dwight and Margaret Lear Chair in American History, Willamette University