FOR THE PAST several years, Associate Professor of Philosophy James D. Janowski, who began his tenure at the College in 1995 and was promoted to his present rank in 2001, has turned his scholarly attention to the metaphysical and moral issues that arise in thinking about art conservation. Janowski?s essay ?The Moral Case for Restoring Artworks? was published in Ethics and the Visual Arts [eds. Elaine King and Gail Levin (New York: Allworth Press, 2006)]. The paper raises a number of questions: When, if ever, is it appropriate to intervene on behalf of an artwork in the interest of restoring it? Assuming intervention is at times appropriate, what sorts of restoration are justifi ed? What sorts are misguided? And why? Marking off a space between the so-called ?purist? and those who defend ?integral? restoration, Janowski argued that intervening on behalf of an artwork, though not metaphysically and morally cost-free, is under certain circumstances quite appropriate.

Janowski is currently working on an essay that addresses the proposed restoration of Afghanistan?s Bamiyan Buddhas, sculptures that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and he brings the philosophical questions about restoring artworks to bear in a course that he designed, Philosophy of Art, a recent addition to the curriculum of the Department of Philosophy.

Janowski received his B.A. from Colorado State University, his M.A. from the University of Calgary, and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

BEYOND THE Classroom FOR THE Classroom
Hampden-Sydney College Faculty Scholarship 2005-2008
A report by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty