Looted Art and the Power of Aesthetics

Looted Art and the Power of Aesthetics  

Why was the Nazi regime so obsessed with aesthetics in general and art looting in particular? This talk tackles the relationship between aesthetics and genocide during the Holocaust by exploring several examples (some overlooked and some more well-known) that demonstrate the profound, disturbing interconnection between violence and beauty.

The Keohane Professorship brings prominent faculty to serve as visiting professors at UNC and Duke for a one-year period, during which they deliver a lecture series and engage students and faculty around areas of shared interest to both institutions. Ultimately, the program is designed to energize new scholarly connections between Duke and UNC. This professorship recognizes the remarkable contributions of Nannerl Keohane during her term as president of Duke University, and the unprecedented level of collaboration she and former UNC Chancellor James Moeser facilitated between these two great institutions.

For 2023-24, Professor Ashley Kaplan will visit Carolina and Duke campuses three times this academic year, to give community lectures, academic seminars, visit classrooms, and meet with undergraduates, grad students and faculty at both campuses. This program is managed by the provost offices at both campuses, this year in collaboration with the Duke Center for Jewish Studies and the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to be a partner in this series.
Lecture topics, with a Jewish studies focus, will be announced in September.

All community lectures will begin at 5:30p and are free and open to the public. A light reception will follow these lectures. Spring schedule:

February 5: UNC Campus: Stone Center, annual Holocaust studies lecture

March 18: UNC Campus: Stone Center

Directions and Parking UNC Stone Center/Bell Tower Parking Deck