|
Showing 1 - 4 of
4 matches in All Departments
This volume brings together leading sociologists and
anthropologists to break new ground in the study of cultural
violence. First sketched in Raphael Lemkin's seminal writings on
genocide, and later systematically defined by peace studies scholar
Johan Galtung, the concept of cultural violence seeks to explain
why and how language, symbols, rituals, practices, and objects are
so frequently in the crosshairs of socio-political change. Recent
conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, along with
renewed public interest in the repertoire of violence applied to
the control and erasure of indigenous populations, highlights the
gaps in our understanding of why cultural violence occurs, what it
consists of, and how it relates to other forms of collective
violence.
This volume brings together leading sociologists and
anthropologists to break new ground in the study of cultural
violence. First sketched in Raphael Lemkin's seminal writings on
genocide, and later systematically defined by peace studies scholar
Johan Galtung, the concept of cultural violence seeks to explain
why and how language, symbols, rituals, practices, and objects are
so frequently in the crosshairs of socio-political change. Recent
conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, along with
renewed public interest in the repertoire of violence applied to
the control and erasure of indigenous populations, highlights the
gaps in our understanding of why cultural violence occurs, what it
consists of, and how it relates to other forms of collective
violence.
Through much of its history, Italy was Europe's heart of the arts,
an artistic playground for foreign elites and powers who bought,
sold, and sometimes plundered countless artworks and antiquities.
This loss of artifacts looted by other nations once put Italy at an
economic and political disadvantage compared with northern European
states. Now, more than any other country, Italy asserts control
over its cultural heritage through a famously effective art-crime
squad that has been the inspiration of novels, movies, and tv
shows. In its efforts to bring their cultural artifacts home, Italy
has entered into legal battles against some of the world's major
museums, including the Getty, New York's Metropolitan Museum, and
the Louvre. It has turned heritage into patrimony capital-a
powerful and controversial convergence of art, money, and politics.
In 2006, the then-president of Italy declared his country to be
"the world's greatest cultural power." With Ruling Culture, Fiona
Greenland traces how Italy came to wield such extensive legal
authority, global power, and cultural influence-from the nineteenth
century unification of Italy and the passage of novel heritage
laws, to current battles with the international art market. Today,
Italy's belief in its cultural superiority is evident through
interactions between citizens, material culture, and the
state-crystallized in the Art Squad, the highly visible
military-police art protection unit. Greenland reveals the
contemporary actors in this tale, taking a close look at the Art
Squad and state archaeologists on one side and unauthorized
excavators, thieves, and smugglers on the other. Drawing on years
in Italy interviewing key figures and following leads, Greenland
presents a multifaceted story of art crime, cultural diplomacy, and
struggles between international powers.
Through much of its history, Italy was Europe's heart of the arts,
an artistic playground for foreign elites and powers who bought,
sold, and sometimes plundered countless artworks and antiquities.
This loss of artifacts looted by other nations once put Italy at an
economic and political disadvantage compared with northern European
states. Now, more than any other country, Italy asserts control
over its cultural heritage through a famously effective art-crime
squad that has been the inspiration of novels, movies, and tv
shows. In its efforts to bring their cultural artifacts home, Italy
has entered into legal battles against some of the world's major
museums, including the Getty, New York's Metropolitan Museum, and
the Louvre. It has turned heritage into patrimony capital-a
powerful and controversial convergence of art, money, and politics.
In 2006, the then-president of Italy declared his country to be
"the world's greatest cultural power." With Ruling Culture, Fiona
Greenland traces how Italy came to wield such extensive legal
authority, global power, and cultural influence-from the nineteenth
century unification of Italy and the passage of novel heritage
laws, to current battles with the international art market. Today,
Italy's belief in its cultural superiority is evident through
interactions between citizens, material culture, and the
state-crystallized in the Art Squad, the highly visible
military-police art protection unit. Greenland reveals the
contemporary actors in this tale, taking a close look at the Art
Squad and state archaeologists on one side and unauthorized
excavators, thieves, and smugglers on the other. Drawing on years
in Italy interviewing key figures and following leads, Greenland
presents a multifaceted story of art crime, cultural diplomacy, and
struggles between international powers.
|
|