Exhibiting Culture/s: Anthropology In and Of the Museum
Over the past two centuries, the museum has
emerged as one of the primary institutional
venues for intercultural encounter mediated
by objects. Practices of both collection and
display have been central to the imagining
and valuing of various kinds of cultural
others, and to the construction and
communication of knowledge about the
world’s peoples. This course examines
multiple historical, theoretical, and
methodological points of articulation (and
disarticulation) between the museum and
the discipline of anthropology. Topics
include: the place of the “exotic” curio in
early modern European and colonial
collections; the rise of natural history and
social evolutionary paradigms for exhibiting
non-European objects; the development of
professional anthropology in the museum;
popular forms of ethno-spectacle (e.g. the
world’s fair and cinema), and the lasting
tension between education and
entertainment; debates surrounding
“primitivism” and avant-garde interest in
non-European art; nationalism, cultural
sovereignty, and reformed museum practice
in the wake of decolonization;
anthropological study of museums as sites
of cultural production and political
contestation; and the role of the digital in
display and collection management. Through
critical readings, discussions, and museum
visits, students will come to better
understand and appreciate the dynamics of
collecting, studying, and displaying the art
and material culture of diverse global
peoples. Opportunities to work closely with
local collections and institutions will be
encouraged. 3 credits. May satisfy the
geocultural requirement, depending on final
project.