Course Syllabus

WELCOME TO THE COURSE.

This class will next be taught in 2019 (TBC).

This paper explores the growing trend of art crime through a focus on five primary areas: theft, fraud, smuggling, forgery and vandalism. These will be examined within the context of international and New Zealand case studies, including the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911, Nazi looting in World War II and thefts during the Iraq War in 2003. Ways to curb such crime, particularly the development of art crime squads, will also be discussed.

The area of Art Crime is inter-disciplinary, in that it draws on the fields of art history, criminology, law, anthropology and archaeology, to name just a few. This is the only Art Crime paper available through a university in Australasia.

Previous students commended the fact that this course was ‘quite unlike any other in Art History’ and that they ‘enjoyed the diverse topics covered’. They also said that it ‘allowed them to apply their existing knowledge about other subjects such as Renaissance and Pacific art in new ways’, such as thinking about their roles in relation to the art market and to art theft.

Students who complete the course have skills which will help them in future studies in Art History or Museums and Cultural Heritage. You may also like to research a topic in further depth at Graduate level. In the past Ngarino has supervised Honours dissertations and MA theses on metals theft in the UK, and looting in Syria, Iraq and Egypt, so there’s scope for you to develop your research in this field.

We hope you enjoy the course as much as we enjoy teaching it.

Points:

ARTHIST 230: 15.0 points

ARTHIST 332: 15.0 points

Prerequisites:

ARTHIST 230:   30 points at Stage I in Art History.

ARTHIST 332: 30 points at Stage II in Art History, or 15 points at Stage II in Art History and 15 points at Stage II in Criminology.

Restrictions for ARTHIST 230:ARTHIST 332

Restrictions for ARTHIST 332: ARTHIST 230

Class Contact Hours: Tuesdays, 12-2 in HSB (Human Sciences Building), level 3, room 352. You will also be in a one hour lectorial: 230 (Wed 12-1 in Commerce A, G14) and 332 (Wed 1-2 in Commerce A, G10).

See the Lecture Timetable here

See the Lectorial Timetable here

CONTACTS

Lecturer: Dr Ngarino Ellis, Building 206 (Arts 1), Level 7, Room 737

Ph: 09 373 7599, ext. 86992 Email: ngarino.ellis@auckland.ac.nz

Office Hour: Wednesdays, 11-12 noon. Drop in by yourself or with another, or email me to make an appointment outside these times.

Administration: School of Humanities, Building 206 (Arts 1), Level 5, Room 517

Adrianna Yiu: a.yiu@auckland.ac.nz

Course Director: Ngarino Ellis, FRSA, PhD, MA (Hons), LLB. Email: ngarino.ellis@auckland.ac.nz