LARS Lezing: Cultural Destruction, Restitution and Reparations during and after the First World War
Schedule
Thu, 02 Apr, 2026 at 01:00 pm
UTC+02:00Location
MSI 01.08 Erasmusplein 2, Leuven | Leuven, BU
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Dear Archaeology enthusiasts,We are pleased to announce the next LARS lecture of 2025–2026, which will be given by Tomás Irish on Thursday 2 April. You are warmly invited to attend a lecture on cultural destruction during the First World War and the reconstruction of heritage in its aftermath, with particular attention to the destruction and rebuilding of the University Library of Leuven and the role of the plaster cast collection within this broader story.
📍 Where? MSI 01.08
📅 When? Thursday, April 2 at 13h00
🎟️ access? free
Tomás Irish is a historian of twentieth-century Europe, specialising in the cultural history of the First World War and the interwar period. His research focuses on universities, intellectuals, and knowledge, and on their roles in war, peace, and times of crisis. He is the author of three books, including Feeding the Mind (2024), and is currently working on projects on international peace activism and UNESCO, as well as on post-First World War reparations and the restitution of cultural heritage. Originally from Ireland, he studied at Trinity College Dublin and is now Professor of Modern History at Swansea University.
He will give a lecture entitled “Cultural Destruction, Restitution and Reparations during and after the First World War: The Archaeological Collections of the University of Leuven.” The lecture will be held in English.
We hope to see you there!
The LARS Team
(Department of Archaeology)
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Where is it happening?
MSI 01.08 Erasmusplein 2, Leuven, BelgiumEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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