|
Looted art, art theft, colonial collections of cultural objects – not only since the controversy over the Nigerian Benin bronzes at the Humboldt Forum in the German capital Berlin and other European museums a dispute over how to deal with exhibits from colonial contexts erupted. The debate, which has been ongoing among experts for some time, gained new political momentum in 2018 when France’s President Macron announced that objects of colonial provenance in French museums would be returned to their societies of origin, and initiated concrete steps. The demand for restitution of art treasures of colonial provenance raises fundamental and extremely complex questions about the presence of the past in ethical, scientific, political, legal and aesthetic dimensions. They concern art historians and museum professionals, cultural historians, historians of science, lawyers and history teachers as well as visitors to museums with colonial collections, who are made aware of the provenance of objects there. This volume, published in Germany in 2021, was a first attempt at illuminating the historio-cultural dimensions of the debate and bringing them to the attention of a broader public. German and international authors contributed essays making clear, how important it is to take a differentiated look at a central part of the current social debate on the legacy of colonialism. This volume was well received. As colonialism is by definition an international phenomenon, the current debate in Germany is presented here in an English language version now. Angaben zur beteiligten Person Sandkühler: Dr. Thomas Sandkühler ist Professor für Geschichtsdidaktik an der Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Er war bis September 2019 Vorsitzender der Konferenz für Geschichtsdidaktik (KGD), der Verband der Geschichtsdidaktikerinnen und Geschichtsdidaktiker Deutschlands. Angaben zur beteiligten Person Epple: ANGELIKA EPPLE, Professor of General History with Special Regard to the 19th and 20th Centuries, Pro-rector for Research and International Affairs and (from October 2023) designated rector of Bielefeld UniverityAngelika Epple ist Professorin für Allgemeine Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts und Prorektorin für Internationales und Diversität der Universität Bielefeld und (ab Oktober 2023) gewählte Rektorin der Universität Bielefeld. Angaben zur beteiligten Person Zimmerer: Jürgen Zimmerer ist Professor für die Geschichte Afrikas an der Universität Hamburg und leitet die Forschungsstelle Hamburgs (post-)koloniales Erbe. Angaben zur beteiligten Person Habermas: Dr. phil. Rebekka Habermas ist Professorin für Mittlere und Neuere Geschichte an der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Angaben zur beteiligten Person Parzinger: Hermann Parzinger, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult., ist seit 2008 Präsident der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin.
|
