Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums PDF
Preview Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums
CANNIBAL TOURS AND GLASS BOXES In Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes, Michael Ames examines the role and responsibility of museums and anthropology in the contempo- rary world. The author challenges popular concepts and criticisms of museums and presents an alternate perspective which reflects his study of critical social theory and his experience from many years of museum work. Based on the author's previous book, Museums, the Public and An- thropology, this edition includes seven new essays which argue that museums and anthropologists must contextualize and critique them- selves. In the new chapters, Ames looks at the influence of consumer- ism and the market economy on museums and in the production of such phenomena as world's fairs and McDonald's hamburger chains, referring to them as 'museums of everyday life.' He also discusses the moral and political ramifications of conflicting attitudes towards Aboriginal art (art or artefact?), censorship (liberating or repressive?), museum exhibits (informative or disinformative?), and postmodern- ism (a new theory or an old ideology?). The earlier essays outline the development of museums in the Western world, the problems faced by anthropologists in attempting to deal with the often conflicting demands of professional as opposed to public interests, the tendency to both fabricate and stereotype, and the need to establish a reciprocal rather than exploitative relationship between museums/anthropologists and Aboriginal people. MICHAEL M. AMES has been director of the Museum of Anthropology since 1974 and is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. This page intentionally left blank MICHAEL M. AMES Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes The Anthropology of Museums UBCPress -Vancouver Toronto © UBC Press 1992 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca. 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 543 Printed in Canada on acid-free paper National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Ames, Michael M. (Michael McClean), 1933- Cannibal tours and glass boxes First ed. has title: Museums, the public and anthropology. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7748-0391-6 (bound). - ISBN 0-7748-0483-1 (pbk.) 1. Museums - Social aspects. 2. Anthropology - Social aspects. 3. Anthropological museums and collections. I. Title. II. Title: Museums, the public and anthropology. GN35.A44 1992 306'.074 C92-091171-4 Canada UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for our publishing program of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council. UBC Press The University of British Columbia 2029 West Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 604-822-5959 / Fax: 604-822-6083 E-mail: [email protected] www.ubcpress.ca For Daniel and Kristin This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface to the Second Edition ix Preface to the First Edition: Museums, the Public and Anthropology xiii 1 Introduction: The Critical Theory and Practice of Museums 3 2 The Development of Museums in the Western World: Tensions between Democratization and Professionalization 15 3 Dilemmas of the Practical Anthropologist: Public Service versus Professional Interests 25 4 What Could a Social Anthropologist Do in a Museum of Anthropology? The Anthropology of Museums and Anthropology 38 5 How Anthropologists Stereotype Other People 49 6 How Anthropologists Help to Fabricate the Cultures They Study 59 7 The Definition of Native Art: The Case of Willie Seaweed 70 8 The Emerging Native View of History and Culture 77 9 De-Schooling the Museum: A Proposal to Increase Public Access to Museums and Their Resources 89 10 Are Museums or Anthropology Really Necessary Any More? 98 11 World's Fairs and the Constitution of Society: The Ideology of Expo '86 in 12 The Big Mac Attack and the Anthropology of Everyday Life 132 13 Cannibal Tours, Glass Boxes, and the Politics of Interpretation 139 14 Museums in the Age of Deconstruction 151 Notes 169 Bibliography 175 Index 203 This page intentionally left blank Preface to the Second Edition The first edition of this book, comprising Chapters 2-6 and 9-10 in the new edition, was published in 1986 as Museums, the Public and An- thropology in the Ranchi University Anthropology Series (Concept Publishing Company) under the general editorship of my friend and colleague, the late Dr. Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly before the preparation of this revision. It was through his kindness and support that the publication of the first edition was made possible, providing the foundation for this second one. Grateful acknowledgment is also made to Ranchi University and Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, with whom Dr. Vidyarthi worked closely, for supporting the idea of an expanded edition under a new title. Much of this book is about the relations between anthropology and the peoples it represents, particularly in museums. How these people should be named therefore requires some explanation. A general term for 'the Other' within the museum context is 'originating popu- lations' (Chapter 13), the people from whose cultures museum collec- tions originated. There are a range of more specific terms for the orig- inating peoples of North America, representing the fact that usage preferences change, and sometimes rapidly. When some of these es- says were first written ten or so years ago, the terms 'Native' and 'Indian' were somewhat more acceptable designations than they since have become. 'Native American' still appears to be in vogue in the United States, whereas First Nations, Aboriginal, indigenous peoples, Native (occasionally), and (more recently) First Peoples are becoming the preferred terms in Canada, usually with the first letters capitalized. What's in a name? 'Why do you call us Indians?' Cree artist Gerald McMaster asked in one of the exhibitions of his works (Ryan 1991).
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