ART 230 Issues in Art and Crime

3 hours 

This course will cover the major current and historic issues dealing with art and crime. After a discussion of the value of art in our world, the course will cover five main topics: theft, repatriation (including issues of national ownership and cultural property), vandalism and restoration, fakes and forgeries, and censorship and freedom of expression. Through lectures, slide presentations, documentaries, classroom discussion and student presentations, the course will study these main issues by using a wide variety of specific case studies in order to frame the current issues facing the preservation and continued enjoyment of art in our world today. The critical issue of who controls art and how it is displayed and protected will also be addressed. The class is intended to make students critically assess the issues facing artists, collectors, museums, and nations in reducing crime and conserving the artistic heritage of everyone, today and in the future.