THE ELGIN MARBLES: ARE MUSEUMS THE LAST CASTLE OF 'IMPERIALISM'?

The refusal of the British Museum to return the Parthenon Marbles to their country of origin on the grounds of a 'cosmopolitan ideology of culture' could be hiding a nostalgia for imperialism; holding on to the symbols of an imperialist past, the loot taken by the 'civilized' British from the 'barbaric' Mediterraneans when the British Empire was the major power in global politics. While violent Imperialist acts, like wars-invasions, cannot be justified any more in the eyes of the public, Museums can exhibit the loot of the imperialist adventure without much pressure from the press or the citizens. Could the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles put the final-symbolic gravestone on the ghost of Imperialism?

The Elgin Marbles: Are Museums the last castle of 'Imperialism'?

Yes, because... Imperialism and the Elgin Marbles

 

I have used this titled because no debate I am aware of has negotiated the issue of the Elgin Marbles from this point of view. While Greece was never part of the British Empire Lord Elgin’s behaviour was that of a person believing in imperialist ideology. With this debate I am opening a debate on the influence of Imperialism on the contemporary dominant ideology as a disguised ‘cosmopolitanism’.

 
 

The Elgin Marbles: Are Museums the last castle of 'Imperialism'?

Yes, because... Empty museums in the UK/US and globalisation

 

The repatriation of cultural goods to the countries of their origin could harm the cosmopolitan spirit of globalisation, in a time when the interest for non-English speaking countries is low. But in a globalised era the poles of culture should be many and the repatriation of cultural goods can help the non-English speaking countries in this race.

 
 

The Elgin Marbles: Are Museums the last castle of 'Imperialism'?

Yes, because... Focusing on the important

 

The argument supporting the repatriation of certain important only cultural symbols, like the Parthenon Marbles, stands on the middle of the road. The public opinion could support the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles but not the whole of the Greek collection of the British Museum.

 
 

The Elgin Marbles: Are Museums the last castle of 'Imperialism'?

 

No, because... Museums are about world history.

 

The very fact that the Marbles are in a British museum is itself of historical interest. It tells people now what this country's policies have been in the past, specifically about the obsession with ancient cultures, such as the Greeks and Egyptians.

 

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