Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era.

Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era. I wanted to say that these two volumes define new paradigms forarchaeology in museums but it is not so. They hint at a changingenvironment, provide many examples of positive responses to thatenvironment, but fail to provide the necessary summations that mightenable all of us to engage in the discourse.This is less of a criticism of the McManus edited volume which quiteclearly aims to provide case-studies of new and interesting approacheswithout strait-jacketing them into a unified philosophical approach.Some of them, of course, turn out to be not very new or interesting. Andone, Beverley Butler on the Titanic salvage operations, is onlyquestionably about archaeology or museums as most of us understand theterms. What does emerge rather strongly is the continuing importance ofcommitted individuals in effecting change even if there must be doubtsabout their real long-term impact on the normative behaviour of othermuseum curators. We might, nevertheless, have hoped for a morethought-provoking statement about the reasons for choosing these studiesthan McManus provides.But Simpson's work mirrors so much archaeological endeavour -large amounts of documentation and precious little interpretation. To befair, her principal concern is with matters falling more obviously intothe concerns of anthropology but the distinction between it andarchaeology in the world she is commenting on is not easily drawn. Atthe end of her book Simpson notes that the developments she hasdocumented do not 'mean that bias and stereotyping, romanticism andsuperficiality do not occur' (p. 265). True, but what disturbed memore was the presence of all these attributes in her work. How else isone to interpret phrases such as 'the culturally focusedintellectual myopia myopia:see nearsightedness. of many curators trained in the Europeantradition' (p. 5)? As a curator trained in that tradition I knowthat I am not one of the curators she refers to, a view most of mycolleagues will take of themselves. The issue though is not really oneof denial - her remark is almost certainly well-founded and in truth Iam probably more myopic my��o��pi��a?n.1. A visual defect in which distant objects appear blurred because their images are focused in front of the retina rather than on it; nearsightedness. Also called short sight.2. than most - but as the book unfolds it becomesclear that her position is rooted in a belief that 'intellectualmyopia' is restricted to curators trained in that tradition.Equally problematic is her description of the National Civil RightsMuseum in Memphis as 'designed to be strongly educational' (p.24). Aren't all museums so designed even if their delivery on thatpurpose can often be poor? These are not major matters in themselves,but throughout the book I found this lack of subtlety in argument andexpression, and its overall 'right-on' tone, alienated me frommuch that I was basically in sympathy with. Issues such as the treatmentof human remains or the repatriation RepatriationThe process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country.Notes:If you are American, converting British Pounds back to U.S. dollars is an example of repatriation. of them and artefacts to thedescendants of communities from which they were collected are complexand challenging. Simpson's work more than amply demonstrates thisin the case-studies she provides, but nowhere does her analysis resonatewith discussions of equivalent complexity and challenge. Her approach isfar too black-and-white.What both volumes ignore are the basic assumptions influencing alltreatments of archaeological information in the museum environment.These should have been both a frame for their discussions and thesubject of rigorous comment.Archaeological material embodies particular difficulties in makingits encoded meanings accessible to the general viewer. Thesedifficulties arise from three main attributes: it is usually incomplete;its appearance has often been radically altered during burial; and itsform offers no clue to 20th-century urban dwellers which enables them tounderstand its function. Only the Empuries travelling box for schoolsbriefly described by Sonia Blasco (McManus: 142-4) comes close todiscussing these matters but its posited solutions involve mimicking theresearch process in combination with hands-on experience of realmaterial. Neither of these approaches is a realistic display option formuseums with large archaeological collections, major exhibition spacesand large visitor figures. It is no coincidence, though nowherecommented upon, that the most interesting approaches (e.g. Jordi Pardoon Empuries, David Simmons David Simmons may refer to: David Simmons (Australian politician) David Simmons (rugby) See alsoDave Simmonds, motorcyclist on Old Sturbridge Village Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is a living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, USA, which re-creates life in rural New England during the 1830s. It is the largest living museum in New England, covering more than 80 hectares (200 acres). ; McManus: 1-15,16-26) are often site-based. Here strong but restricted narratives, wellsupported by informed guides, provide a focus which is often difficultto achieve in museum displays with wider spatial and chronologicalconcerns.What comes across most powerfully from both books, although morepowerfully in Simpson's, is the apparent dichotomy between Europeanarchaeology and the archaeology of indigenous peoples in areassufficiently heavily colonized ColonizedThis occurs when a microorganism is found on or in a person without causing a disease.Mentioned in: Isolation by Europeans for their cultural norms tohave hegemony. In the case of these books this means the predominantlyEnglish-speaking countries of Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand New Zealand(zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. (only Australia features in McManus with an interesting piece by JimSpecht & Carolyn MacLulich, pp. 27-49). The conflicts andcontroversies of these areas are the meat of Simpson's book. Buther interest in Europe is limited to those museums holding collectionsof human remains and artefacts collected from indigenous peoples informer colonies, and their treatment of them. She does not acknowledgethe differences in approach that I recognize nor does she tell uswhether the disagreements and developments she documents are aphenomenon restricted to the English-speaking world.I describe it only as an apparent dichotomy because in museumarchaeology there may be more similarities between the two areas thanseems to be the case at first sight. Certainly, the rhetoric ofindigenous peoples focuses on colonial exploitation and extermination exterminationmass killing of animals or other pests. Implies complete destruction of the species or other group. indiscussions of human remains or artefacts collected from theirancestors. This rhetoric finds little echo in discussions of thematerial culture collected by archaeologists in Europe. But beneath thisrhetoric are the fundamental issues of control and ownership. Here, Ithink, there are striking parallels with the pressures fordecentralization de��cen��tral��ize?v. de��cen��tral��ized, de��cen��tral��iz��ing, de��cen��tral��iz��esv.tr.1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. with which most large European museums now have tocontend. The prevailing ethos, except perhaps in large museums, is nowthat archaeological finds should be deposited in the museum closest tothe find-spot. Only the most minimal standards have to be met in orderto qualify a museum as a suitable recipient for archaeological material.Hence the ever-growing list of small museums clamouring Noun 1. clamouring - loud and persistent outcry from many people; "he ignored the clamor of the crowd"clamoring, clamour, hue and cry, clamorcry, outcry, shout, vociferation, yell, call - a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; "the speaker was for it. Despitemy national museum background I am not necessarily opposed to thissituation as an effective means of redressing past imbalances, but wehave to recognize the potential conflict between the requirements forresearch and the emotional needs of communities to identify withancestors and roots. Some of our best-contextualized and mostinformation-rich assemblages are passing into the care of institutionsleast able to exploit their potential to enhance access to thearchaeologically created past. Perhaps this has general support, but itis not yet support rooted in serious debate or consideration.Debate is important. The attitudes and demands of indigenous peoplesgive the issues a much starker profile because they do not subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day"subscribe, takebuy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; the shared European attitude to information. Here are groups that do notnecessarily want their material culture, or aspects of it, to form anysignificant part of the European canon of knowledge and its unfetteredpursuit. Their concepts of access are similarly very different fromours. Simpson provides, without serious disapproval, two instances whereit seems to me political sensitivities triumphed over intelligentdecision-making: the return of the Pleistocene human bones from KowSwamp, Australia, to the unrelated Ehuca community at their request toprovide mass re-burial, and the de-accessioning of burials (humanremains and artefacts) from Peterborough, Canada, and their subsequentre-burial by the Ojibwa Curve Lake First Nations, 'the nearest bandin the area' (Simpson: 187-8, 233-4). I judge both of these casessolely on Simpson's description, but they do emphasize thedifficulties of maintaining sensible judgement. Nor should we beethnocentric eth��no��cen��trism?n.1. Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.2. Overriding concern with race.eth enough to believe that comparable foolishness could not beenacted here.Repatriation and associated issues are unlikely to disappear frommuseum agendas in the near future. Indeed, quite the reverse seems themore probable scenario. This being so, the rather simplistic sim��plism?n.The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications.[French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple position ofSimpson - pro-repatriation equals enlightened good curators,anti-repatriation means conservative reactionaries - means that her bookis likely to be less influential in the developing debate than mightotherwise have been the case. While recognizing the conflicts inherentin the situation and to some extent attempting to describe the opposingfactions, she does not discuss how she thinks these positions might bereconciled or even if she believes them to be reconcilable rec��on��cil��a��ble?adj.Capable of or qualified for reconciliation: reconcilable differences.rec . This appearsto me to be a noteworthy omission in a book seeking to plot a course formuseums in the post-colonial era. Not that this is any easy task, for itis cleat' from her descriptions that some pretty entrenched en��trench? also in��trenchv. en��trenched, en��trench��ing, en��trench��esv.tr.1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending.2. positions are already firmly occupied and intended to be stronglydefended.In these circumstances I find it surprising that she did not discussthe possible contribution that developments in electronic imaging mightmake to the debate. This is, of course, a matter of much wider relevanceto museums than just the issue of repatriation. It is clear that theparadigms controlling collecting policies for European material culturebreak down when confronted with the period post-1850 (the exact date isvariable according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. taste). The sheer quantity of object types willdefeat museums' abilities to collect them in any conventionalsense. How many museums, for instance, can contemplate collecting everymodel of video recorder See DVR, DVD-R and DVD drives. available in their collecting area? When thisproblem is expanded to every type of available object, including largeindustrial pieces, it becomes insurmountable if approached in thenormative way of collecting. Add to this the expectation of a world inwhich mass-production as we currently understand the term is anhistorical phenomenon. How many Model-T Fords or light-bulbs willmuseums have to have to demonstrate convincingly the phenomenon? This isnot an issue without relevance for archaeologists. Many Mediterraneanmuseums, for instance, have already reached the point where huge partsof excavated assemblages are studied and re-buried for lack of storageand collections management resources - circumstances perhaps not withoutrelevance for repatriation debates. And some contract archaeology inBritain is starting to produce assemblages with significantnear-contemporary components. One possible answer to these dilemmaswould be the use of electronic imaging whereby museums housedthree-dimensional images rather than the actual object. Of course, thisis not presently an option but should it become so it will haveconsiderable implications for information gathering if our researchquestions are not to be impoverished.All this is somewhat removed from the matters discussed in the booksI began with. For me their greatest interest lay in the issues whichthey didn't discuss but nevertheless provoked.