The Museum of Criminology of the University of Graz: Discussion problematic heritage and its ethical aspects
Date: 21st - 22nd June 2025
Please find here the Call for Papers - submissions are now closed.
Venues:
- Criminological Collection (Hans Gross Kriminalmuseum), University Museums of the University of Graz, Heinrichstraße 18, 8010 Graz and
- UR 09.23 + UR 09.24, Heinrichstraße 26, University of Graz, 8010 Graz
Programme
13:00 - 14:00 Welcome and Introduction
Esther Boeles, Bernadette Biedermann, Stefan Köchel
Introduction and discussion of expectations of participants
14:00 – 15:00 Object-Speed-dating
Participants are asked to bring “objects” (replicas or photographs) connected to ethical questions; by briefly introducing the item to a small group new perspectives can be considered
Chaired by: Eline Bos
15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30-16:30 Guided tour criminological museum
Expert guided tour of the Criminological Museum Graz (Hans Gross Kriminalmuseum – University Museums University of
Graz) with Stefan Köchel
16:30-16:45 Break
16:45-17:45 Engaging emotionally with problematic heritage
Chaired by: Bernadette Biedermann
17:45 Final remarks
By: participants and Esther Boeles
9:30 – 11:00 Selection of case studies
Nadia Pugliese (Ph.D. student in Cultural Heritage and Historical-Artistic, Audiovisual and Multimedia Production, Department of Historical Studies, University of Turin)
Criminology and racism within the collection of the “Cesare Lombroso” Museum of Criminal Anthropology. A focus on the photography archive of the museum.
Mariana Brum Fonseca (PhD in Cultural Heritage & Museology, University of Coimbra, specialization: Museology)
From Colonial Tools to Decolonial Dialogues: Rethinking the University of Coimbra’s Brazilian Maps
Johanna Lessing (Associated researcher, Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, PHD Student, Institute of Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology, Georg-August-University Göttingen)
Exhibition “Threshold” – crossing collection boundaries
Anna Rechenmacher (Art historian, Master student Digital Humanities, University of Graz)
Between visibility and legitimisation: museum documentation of controversial immaterial phenomena using the example of student fraternities in Leoben
Fábio Monteiro (Ph.D. student in Cultural Heritage and Museology at the University of Coimbra, where he also obtained a Master’s degree in Cultural Heritage and Museology and a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism, Leisure, and Heritage)
Ethics, Archives, and Scientific Authority: Difficult Heritage in the Building Permit Records of the Astronomical Observatory Protection Zone in Coimbra
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-13:00 Workshop: Perspectives on ethical considerations
Museum Narratives and Human Remains – between display and restitution
Interactive workshop for participants developing new perspectives on managing problematic collections using the criminological museum as starting point in smaller groups
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 15:30 Workshop: Perspectives on ethical considerations
Laurens de Rooy
Between exhibition and restitution: Contested values in an anatomy museum
Interactive workshop for participants developing new perspectives on managing problematic collections using the criminological museum as starting point in smaller groups
Pedro Casaleiro
The Royal Monastery of Sijena, 12th century to present, Aragon, Spain: A paradigmatic case of loss, dispersal, display and partial restitution of heritage
15:30 - 15:45 Break
15:45 – 17:00 Reflection on workshop results – addressing the criminological
museum
17:00 Reflections and Final remarks
Feedback by participants