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Title details for The Museum of Other People by Adam Kuper - Available

The Museum of Other People

From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions

by Adam Kuper
Marisa Calin
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A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • From one of the world’s most distinguished anthropologists, an important and timely work of cultural history that looks at the origins and much debated future of anthropology museums
“A provocative look at questions of ethnography, ownership and restitution . . . the argument [Kuper] makes in The Museum of Other People is important precisely because just about no one else is making it. He asks the questions that others are too shy to pose. . . . Required reading.” –Financial Times (UK)
In this deeply researched, immersive history, Adam Kuper tells the story of how foreign and prehistoric peoples and cultures were represented in Western museums of anthropology. Originally created as colonial enterprises, their halls were populated by displays of plundered art, artifacts, dioramas, bones, and relics. Kuper reveals the politics and struggles of trying to build these museums in Germany, France, and England in the mid-19th century, and the dramatic encounters between the very colorful and eccentric collectors, curators, political figures, and high members of the church who founded them. He also details the creation of contemporary museums and exhibitions, including the Smithsonian, the Harvard’s Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, and the famous 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago which was inspired by the Paris World Fair of 1889.
Despite the widespread popularity and cultural importance of these institutions, there also lies a murky legacy of imperialism, colonialism, and scientific racism in their creation. Kuper tackles difficult questions of repatriation and justice, and how best to ensure that the future of these museums is an ethical, appreciative one that promotes learning and cultural exchange.
A stunning, unique, accessible work based on a lifetime of research, The Museum of Other People reckons with the painfully fraught history of museums of natural history, and how curators, anthropologists, and museumgoers alike can move forward alongside these time-honored institutions.
Cover photograph: Noire et Blanche, 1926, by Man Ray © Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2023. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 16, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593796016
      • File size: 351408 KB
      • Duration: 12:12:05

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      September 13, 2024

      Anthropologist Kuper (Incest and Influence: The Private Life of Bourgeois England) examines the history and contentious future of anthropology and ethnography museums, which became popular in Europe and the United States in the mid-1800s. Collections within these institutions often featured items entrenched in colonialist values, freezing entire peoples' histories in time and depriving their descendants of access to ancestral bones. Marisa Calin narrates, offering a lively reading of Kuper's argument, that culturally sensitive conversations on collecting, interpreting, and maintaining objects are long overdue. Calin's balanced performance mirrors Kuper's approach, ably guiding listeners through the facts and his proposal for a way forward. Rather than simply repatriating entire collections, Kuper suggests that museum curators keep abreast of dialogues and scholarship while working to create more cosmopolitan collections and institutions. VERDICT This nuanced work on the history of museums addresses debates about cultural appropriation and offers solutions to help museum workers become more adept at addressing colonial legacies. A good pairing with B�n�dicte Savoy's Africa's Struggle for Its Art, which describes African nations' attempts to repatriate looted artworks.--Sharon Sherman

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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