Course Schedule

Start > Leuphana Bachelor (B.A./B.Eng./B.Sc./LL.B.) -> Major Cultural Studies: Organization, Society, and the Arts -> Arts and Institutions

Lehrveranstaltungen

The Provenance Paradox: When Museum Collections Reveal Their Unethical Pasts (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Lynn Rother

Termin:
 Einzeltermin | Fr, 17.10.2025, 14:15 - Fr, 17.10.2025, 15:45 | C 12.002 Seminarraum
Einzeltermin | Fr, 12.12.2025, 14:00 - Fr, 12.12.2025, 19:00 | C 40.606 Seminarraum
Einzeltermin | Sa, 13.12.2025, 10:00 - Sa, 13.12.2025, 17:00 | extern
Einzeltermin | Fr, 30.01.2026, 14:00 - Fr, 30.01.2026, 19:00 | C 40.255 Seminarraum
Einzeltermin | Sa, 31.01.2026, 10:00 - Sa, 31.01.2026, 17:00 | extern

Inhalt: Since the 1960s, artists engaged in institutional critique have exposed the power structures, exclusions, and hidden economies underpinning the museum. Today, provenance research extends this critical lens into the very foundations of collections, uncovering the problematic—at times deeply unethical—histories of acquisition and ownership. From Nazi-era looting to colonial appropriation, objects long celebrated as cultural treasures are increasingly enmeshed in demands for restitution and accountability. This seminar investigates how artistic works of institutional critique and provenance research reconfigure the museum as both a site of contestation and a platform for transparency. We will examine how legal, ethical, and political claims intersect with scholarly inquiry, how restitution debates reshape institutional practices, and how German museums, in particular, have begun to weave these contested histories into exhibitions and public programs. Through case studies, critical readings, and engagement with both artistic interventions and museum strategies, students will consider how provenance research functions as a contemporary form of institutional critique that redefines the museum’s role in society.