On Thursday, February 23rd, at 7 p.m., the Joynes Reading Room will host “Art Under Attack,” a lecture by visiting professor Erin Thompson from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. 

The history of the world is under attack. Instability and conflict in Syria, Egypt, and other countries have led to looting and destruction of archeological sites. The damage done is incalculable, harming our knowledge of the past, tourism-based economies, and the cultural identity of these regions. Moreover, terrorist organizations are funding their activities through the sale of looted antiquities, in addition to releasing propaganda videos of fighters destroying “idolatrous” antiquities and using ancient ruins as the backdrop for executions. What is to be done? Professor Thompson’s talk will give an overview of the various legal and policing strategies currently in place to fight the looting crisis. She will also examine other less traditional proposals, from marketing campaigns that attempt to persuade collectors not to buy, to computer scientists producing 3-D reconstructions of destroyed antiquities from crowd-sourced photographs, to the use of drones to monitor vulnerable archeological sites.

Students who wish to attend the lecture may request a free copy of Thompson’s book Possession: The Curious History of Private Collectors from Antiquity to the Present. Supplies are limited—inquire in person at the front desk of the Joynes Reading Room. The book was named a “best of 2016” by NPR.