Museum of Other People (eBook)

From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions

Adam Kuper (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
462 Seiten
ProFile (Verlag)
978-1-80081-092-1 (ISBN)

Infos

A TLS BEST BOOK OF 2023'A formidable work' Nigel Barley, author of The Innocent Anthropologist'Should be required reading' Richard Lambert, Financial Times'A magnificent, moving survey' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, TLSThis is a history of the ways in which foreign and prehistoric peoples were represented in museums of anthropology, with their displays of arts and artifacts, their dioramas, their special exhibitions, and their arrays of skulls and skeletons.Originally created as colonial enterprises, what is the purpose of these places today? What should they do with the items in their custodianship? And how can they help us to understand and appreciate other cultures?Informed by a lifetime of research and scholarship, this subtle and original work tackles painful questions about race, colonialism, difference, and cultural appropriation. The result is a must-read for anyone concerned with the coexistence of different modes of life.

Rezensionen

A delight from the first to the last page [which] raises questions that could lead to ways out of the dilemmas ... The juxtapositions of the different positions, which Adam Kuper presents very pointedly, clarifies the arguments with a sharpness that I have rarely experienced. It will certainly provoke dissent, but that is what the discipline (especially in its museums branch) thrives on (or should thrive on) ... Wonderful

A level-headed survey of the rise and fall of anthropological and ethnographic collections and what their futures may hold ... Kuper steers a pragmatic course through these perilous waters

A formidable work ... one whose want has been much felt

This is the must-read book for anyone interested in the history of ethnographic museums and how the urban public of Western industrial nations learned about the myriad "other people" living on our planet. Kuper applies his monumental knowledge of the history of anthropological scholarship to lay out his vision of how the ethnographic museums were born, thrived, and eventually moved to the margins of public imagination. Yet, as he rightly claims, big ethnographic museums face new beginnings in the 21st century ­- ones defined by creative exhibits, ethical stewardship, and modern education about lives and cultures of world's "other people"

Material for thought ... Nothing beats reading this book, without bias but with a sort of peaceful objectivity, sometimes polemical

Adam Kuper shows in his engaging new overview of the Western world's ethnology/antiquities/natural history museums that the issues of identity and ethics with which these key cultural institutions wrestle today have very deep roots indeed. His book is obligatory reading for anyone interested in the complexities of international repatriation, the boundaries of "art," and the role of museums in the modern world

An excellent, comprehensive tour through one of the most important and influential schools of anthropological theory

A vibrant cultural history ... Kuper's deeply researched [and] vigorous examination of ethnography and anthropology museums ... brings an authoritative perspective

A magnificent, moving survey ... Kuper's case is strong and his voice - erudite and elegiac - commands respect

A provocative look at questions of ethnography, ownership and restitution ... should be required reading for the trustees of big museums everywhere

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.2.2023
• Zusatzinfo: B&W illustrations integrated
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: Anthropology • History • Keeping Their Marbles Tiffany Jenkins • Museum Studies • The Brutish Museums Dan Hicks • The Digital Future of Museums Keir Winesmith and Suse Anderson • The Whole Picture Alice Procter
• ISBN-10: 1-80081-092-X / 180081092X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-80081-092-1 / 9781800810921