Proposing a Victimology Model for the Trade in Cultural Objects

• In Event: Victimology in Context: Historical Insights, Cultural Impacts, Cybercrime, and Polyvictimization

Abstract

The quest for repatriation of foreign-held cultural heritage has recently intensified, leading to a paradigm shift in the narratives around access to, agency over and ownership of cultural objects. It is now widely recognized that many cultural objects were looted through colonial or other exploitative practices, and that, if the communities of origin so desire, these should be repatriated. However, during the repatriation process, many stakeholders can lay claim to the cultural objects in question or to the intellectual property that surrounds them. Terms like ‘victim’ and ‘justice’ are often used, yet rarely unpacked in this context.

This paper reconsiders scholarship in the field of cultural heritage crimes by applying a victimology lens, linking this to different forms of potential justice (restorative or transitional, among others). Previous research has focused primarily on furthering the crime and punishment agenda, for example by framing the illicit trade in cultural objects as a white-collar or organized crime. Focusing on the victims rather than the offenders in cases of illicit trade or transfer of cultural objects offers an opportunity to platform their needs and priorities and recognize their agency, rather than negating these voices and repeating the deeply embedded ideologies of othering, colonization, and exploitation that the trade in cultural objects – and its research – is based on. This paper ultimately proposes a victimological typology model that can assist in understanding the harms caused by the commodification of cultural objects.

Authors

• Emiline Smith, University of Glasgow

• Marc Balcells, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya