Museum Studies Commons^™

Acknowledging The Colonial Past: Display Methods Of Ethnographic Objects, Sarah Kraft

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Today, the word ‘colonialism’ brings to mind a dark page in Western history. In the nineteenth century, it was justified as a civilizing mission of the West, aimed at bringing culture, religion, and prosperity to the ‘primitive’ people of non-Western countries.

Many Western colonizers took objects from colonized peoples, bringing them back, first as curiosities, then as objects of study and wonder to be displayed in ethnographic museums. Ethnographic museums today exist in a post-colonial world, where people recognize that taking these objects in many cases was wrong and, in some cases, criminal. This raises the question of whether museums …

James Connolly's Bloodstained Vest: Mediating Death And Violence In Commemorative Exhibitions, Siobhan Doyle

Articles

The actions surrounding the display of images and artefacts in museums – collection, conservation, research and exhibition – are bound up with how the past is presented and remembered. These conditions and decisions relating to exhibitions are largely invisible to viewers who are confronted with the apparent completeness of an exhibition display. By conducting a historical and visual analysis of the bloodstained vest of political leader James Connolly, this article uncovers how this artefact has become a relic of historical violence due to the way in which particular aspects of its configuration, form and trajectory have been manipulated in order …

Making Do With What You've Got: Improving Your Collections Storage Now, Adam Stephen Guy Smith, Heather Hoagland

Library Services Publications

Don’t wait until that inventory grant money comes through, get started improving your collection storage today using things you have right now or can get without breaking the bank or begging the board! Come ready to share your ideas as well as learn from your presenters and colleagues in this informal discussion-style session. Attendees will leave the session with easily implemented and inexpensive ideas for storing, displaying, and rehousing objects of all shapes, sizes and materials.