4:30 PM: Heritage Symposium Keynote

Monumental Change: Recent Responses to Controversial Sculptures in America

Erin L. Thompson (John Jay College, City University of New York) in discussion with Mary Rogero (Miami University Department of Architecture and Interior Design)

Followed by reception

Join Erin Thompson of John Jay College, City University of New York, America’s only professor of art crime and author of Smashing Statues: the Rise and Fall of America’s Public Monuments (2022), in discussion with Professor Mary Rogero, Department Chair of Architecture and Interior Design at Miami University.  Reception to follow.

In 2020, for the first time ever, the majority of Americans said “yes” when asked in surveys if controversial monuments should be removed. The years since have seen mass protests about monuments in the United States, and over 200 of them left their pedestals. Yet, most of these monuments were simply moved elsewhere or are awaiting reinstallation. So, what’s really going on with U.S. monuments? This keynote will outline surprising facts about what really changed since 2020, explaining the factors keeping even the most controversial American monuments on view.

SPEAKER BIO

Erin L. Thompson is America’s only professor of art crime. She teaches at John Jay College at the City University of New York and holds a PhD in Art History and a law degree. She studies the deliberate destruction of art, analyzing the ways in which this destruction has sometimes harmed and sometimes benefited communities. She has spoken about monuments controversies with outlets including the New Yorker, New York Times, Cp, and “The Today Show,” and both Stephen Colbert and John Oliver have referenced her work. Her book Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of American Public Monuments, was published by Norton in 2022.

Social Media - Twitter: @artcrimeprof

SPONSORED BY THE HUMANITIES CENTER, COLLEGE OF CREATIVE ARTS, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY & THE MIRIAM W. HOWARD FUND.