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Putting The Dead On Display: An Exploration Of Visitor Perceptions And Motivations Regarding Preserved Human Remains In Museums With Particular Emphasis On The Museo De Las Momias De Guanajuato And Body Worlds & The Cycle Of Life, Amanda Balistreri

Theses and Dissertations

Viewing preserved human remains in museums can evoke visceral reactions of curiosity, awe, and repulsion. The popularity of sites and attractions where "the real dead are recreated, packaged up, and sold as an exhibitory experience" (Stone 2011:12) not only alludes to a contemporary fascination with death and dying but also to the economic benefit that institutions derive from providing such experiences. This study focuses on the institutional discourse and the public perception of two distinct exhibitions of relatively modern preserved human remains, the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato in Mexico and the Body Worlds & the Cycle of Life …