Description
| Product ID: | 9781682193150 |
| Product Form: | Paperback / softback |
| Country of Manufacture: | GB |
| Series: | Decolonize That! |
| Title: | Decolonize Museums |
| Authors: | Author: Shimrit Lee, Bhakti Shringarpure |
| Page Count: | 224 |
| Subjects: | Museology and heritage studies, Museology & heritage studies, Colonialism and imperialism, Social discrimination and social justice, Colonialism & imperialism, Social discrimination & inequality |
| Description: | Select Guide Rating Behold thesleazy logic of museums: plunder dressed up as charity, conservation, and care. The idealizedWestern museum, as typified by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the BritishMuseum, and the Museum of Natural History, has remained much the same for overa century: a uniquely rarified public space of cool stone, providing anexperience of leisure and education for the general public while carefullytending fragile artifacts from distant lands. As questions about representationand ethics have increasingly arisen, these institutions have proclaimed theirinterest in diversity and responsible conservation, asserting both theiradaptability and their immovably essential role in a flourishing and culturallyrich society. With DecolonizeMuseums, Shimrit Lee punctures this fantasy, tracing the essentiallycolonial origins of the concept of the museum. White Europeans’ atrocities werereimagined through narratives of benign curiosity and abundant respect for theoccupied or annihilated culture, and these racist narratives, Lee argues,remain integral to the authority exercised by museums today. Citing pop culturereferences from Indiana Jones to Black Panther,and highlighting crucial activist campaigns and legal action to redress theharms perpetrated by museums and their proxies, Decolonize Museums arguesthat we must face a dismantling of these seemingly eternal edifices, andconsider what, if anything, might take their place. Behold the sleazy logic of museums: plunder dressed up as charity, conservation, and care. The idealized Western museum, as typified by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Museum of Natural History, has remained much the same for over a century: a uniquely rarified public space of cool stone, providing an experience of leisure and education for the general public while carefully tending fragile artifacts from distant lands. As questions about representation and ethics have increasingly arisen, these institutions have proclaimed their interest in diversity and responsible conservation, asserting both their adaptability and their immovably essential role in a flourishing and culturally rich society. With Decolonize Museums, Shimrit Lee punctures this fantasy, tracing the essentially colonial origins of the concept of the museum. White Europeans’ atrocities were reimagined through narratives of benign curiosity and abundant respect for the occupied or annihilated culture, and these racist narratives, Lee argues, remain integral to the authority exercised by museums today. Citing pop culture references from Indiana Jones to Black Panther, and highlighting crucial activist campaigns and legal action to redress the harms perpetrated by museums and their proxies, Decolonize Museums argues that we must face a dismantling of these seemingly eternal edifices, and consider what, if anything, might take their place. |
| Imprint Name: | OR Books |
| Publisher Name: | OR Books |
| Country of Publication: | GB |
| Publishing Date: | 2022-10-13 |
