Living Heritage Rights: Attitudes towards Cultural Property in the Hellenic Diaspora

The author examines the case for restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, from both official and popular viewpoints, in particular those of the British Museum (where the marbles are currently housed), the Greek government and of Greek individuals living in Diaspora in cosmopolitan Montreal. The author found that both the Parthenon Marbles themselves, and the case for their restitution to Greece, are only familiar to Montreal-Greek individuals who have acquired a background in a relevant academic discipline, such as art history, classical studies, anthropology, or political science. However, by exposing uninformed Montreal-Greeks to the arguments for and against the case for restitution, strong interest and attitudes leading to informal social mobilization were generated. The author concludes that this may be interpreted as pointing to Greek immigrants' profound need for cultural representation and visibility within multicultural Montreal.

Master's Thesis

Concordia University

Montreal

2010

en