A case study of academic facilitation of the global illicit trade in cultural objects: Mary Slusser in Nepal

Smith, E. and Thompson, E. L. (2023) A case study of academic facilitation of the global illicit trade in cultural objects: Mary Slusser in Nepal. International Journal of Cultural Property, (doi: 10.1017/S0940739123000048) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

In this article, we consider the role that academics play in the global illicit trade in cultural objects. Academics connect sources to buyers and influence market values by publishing looted and stolen cultural objects (passive facilitation) and by collaborating with market players, including by collecting artifacts themselves (active facilitation). Their actions shape market desire, changing what is targeted for looting, theft, and illicit trading across borders. However, this crucial facilitative role often goes unnoticed or unaddressed in scholarship on collecting, white collar crime, and the illicit market in cultural objects. This article explores the importance of academic facilitation through a case study of the career of Mary Slusser, a renowned American scholar of Nepali art and art history.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Smith, Dr Emiline
• Authors: Smith, E., and Thompson, E. L.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: International Journal of Cultural Property
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0940-7391
• ISSN (Online): 1465-7317
• Published Online: 12 May 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s), 2023.
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Cultural Property 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy