Hermeneutics of Restitution, Reparation, and Redress: The Case of Cultural Property – conference report

Abstract

This is a conference report for “Hermeneutics of Restitution, Reparation, and Redress: The Case of Cultural Property,” hosted on 9 and 10 April, 2026, at the University of Bonn, Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies. Led by Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller of the University of Bonn, Faculty of Law and Economics, this hybrid, international conference featured twenty-five panelists from a range of disciplines who discussed the restitution of cultural property in a variety of institutional and cultural contexts. The aim of this conference was to use the case of cultural property to inform the development of reparatory measures for historical injustices and proceed toward a general theory of post-dependency remedies. The conference engaged with several manifestations of restitution, reparation, and redress to produce new knowledge that drives developments in the field. Its investigation into the hermeneutics of these practices, their precise purpose, and their implications for policymakers and advocates revealed insights from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, with each session building upon the last to paint a broader picture of the application of these practices in the domain of cultural heritage and beyond. Two of the most critical sources of knowledge production were, first, the temporal limitations of these remedies in cases of historical injustice, and second, the tension between the symbolic remedial gestures and material transfers of power. These themes emerged as throughlines throughout the conference to inform the possible futures of these remedies in practice. The conference thus developed primary elements of a general critical theory of post-dependency remedies.