Transatlantic Adventures: Parallel Heritages, Humanities in Action!

In 2019, converging research interests in the history of collecting and use of ancient artifacts at both Columbia University and the Universite Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne, led to a joint research project entitled Parallel Heritages, Humanities in Action! The Sorbonne and Columbia Collections of Antiquities. The project explores the histories of each university’s art collections and the role archaeological objects and plaster casts played in the education of art historians and archaeologists in the United States and Europe. Our project furthermore aims to stimulate research on the—largely understudied—antiquities collections at both institutions by adding a comparative dimension to the exploration of the parallel processes that led to the establishment of these collections at Columbia and the Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Our comparative approach is not limited to an exploration of institutional histories and historiographies, but also addresses questions of the legal status of collections in the United States and in France and issues of local policies governing their administration and care. It was our expectation that such an approach would create opportunities for cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional research, the exchange of knowledge and know-how among faculty members engaged in object-based research, as well as the potential for students interested in curatorial and art conservation careers.