FutureLearn

Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime (FutureLearn)

Offered by University of Glasgow,
Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime (FutureLearn)

Delve into the seedy underbelly of the art world, looking at smuggling, theft, fakes, and fraud, with this free online course. From fakes and fraud, to thefts and trafficking, art crime has turned archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria into “lunar landscapes”, decapitated Buddha sculptures in Cambodia and left empty frames on museum walls.

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So how do we protect our heritage from theft, illegal sale, and destruction? Delve into the world of art crime and antiquities trafficking with this online course, and get answers from those fighting to save the world’s precious artefacts.

What topics will you cover?

  • Learn how context at archaeological sites is lost through looting
  • Explore the source of antiquities on the illicit market as it relates to poverty
  • Consider how antiquities trafficking can be considered a form of organized crime
  • Think about how the market for antiquities influences both looting and smuggling
  • Learn why art has value, and how value relates to art crime
  • Consider the realities and limitations of art theft
  • Explore several cases of art forgery and how experts detect fakes
  • Think about the different types of art vandalism, and consider if vandalism, itself, can be art
  • Weigh the pros and cons of returning cultural objects to their country of origin
  • Consider the social, emotional, and ethical reasons why objects might be repatriated
  • Debate a major ongoing antiquities return case

What will you achieve?

  • Engage with the key differences between illegal art/antiquities, illicit art/antiquities, and legal art/antiquities and why these differences are significant
  • Identify the primary stakeholders in the antiquities trafficking, art crime, and repatriation spheres and how their motivations compare and contrast
  • Explore criminological and sociological ideas to better understand aspects of art crime, antiquities trafficking, and cultural property recovery
  • Develop informed opinions about the key social, political, legal, and moral issues associated with antiquities trafficking, art crime, and the return of cultural objects
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