Socratic Dialogues: Education series for conservation students and beginning professionals Session 1

As a student or beginning professional in conservation, you are or have been exposed to the many concepts in conservation ethics in many ways in the form of lectures, discussion groups, workshops and practice conservation studio experience. You have become aware that issues such as minimal treatment, original appearance, respect for an object, retouching, and value are subject to often heated debate, but that thinking about conservation ethics is also in a constant state of flux. However, in the pressure of training curricula, it is difficult to find the time to reflect on what you have learned and experienced without feeling like you are being judged by your colleagues or the faculty.

In order to provide free space for you to think about your future role in conservation, the AIC is offering a series of so-called Socratic dialogues to help you reflect on a number of important issues in conservation and conservation ethics.  The Socratic method developed in modern times by the German philosophy, Leonard Nelson, is an excellent, proven method for such reflections. It is a structured form of dialogue in which all participants actively contribute. The purpose of the dialogue is not to solve the question or controversies at hand with respect to issues in conservation and conservation ethics, but to investigate and understand each other’s experience, opinions and concerns. The Socratic method provides a safe, open environment for participants to investigate what the essence behind these issues is, to understand their own points of view as well as those of others, and how this understanding might help them in making conservation decisions in the future.

The Socratic dialogue series will consist of five dialogues spread over two calendar years. Each dialogue will be conducted in English. Depending on the particular format, the dialogues will last between two and three hours and will be conducted on-line. The starting times will depend on the geographic location of the international participants.

Moderator: Dr. W. (Bill) Wei, FIIC

Dr. Wei (1955) is a senior conservation scientist (retired) in the Cultural Heritage Laboratory of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). He conducts research into the effects of cleaning and treatments of objects on their appearance and viewers’ perception, as well as the effect of vibrations and mechanical stresses on the condition of fragile works of art and cultural heritage.

A major area of interest is how conservation decisions are influenced by the differing perception of objects by art historians, conservation scientists, conservators, curators, directors, and other collections staff. Dr. Wei has trained as a Socratic dialogue moderator and has organized over 70 dialogues over the past fifteen years, including dialogues at the previous seven AIC annual meetings (2013-2021) on “value”, “museum climate”, “certification”, “disaster planning”, "high-tech innovation", “public participation” “color”, “objectivity, subjectivity and taste in conservation decision-making”, “systematic racism in conservation” and “authenticity and originality”, a dialogue on the rights of living artists at the ICOM-CC meeting in 2014 and at the ICOM-CC Legal Issues working group meeting in 2016, and dialogues for various museums, cultural heritage institutes, universities, and smaller groups of conservators in different countries on conservation ethics, cleaning of historic church interiors, digitalization, photograph conservation, the value of archaeological work, and the subject of dust in museums.

Audience and Registration

This conversations is intended for students or emerging professionals in the conservation field, be it active conservation or related fields such as preventive conservation or conservation science. Registration for this workshop is free, but limited to 48 people. All of the workshops will be conducted on-line using a platform known as Moodle.