ANTH 233 Ethnographic Studies
Winter 2019
I acknowledge that St FX is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.
Jan. 28, 31, Feb, 4, 7, 14: Museum anthropology: The Spirit Sings controversy and its aftermath;
READ: Harrison, Julia. 1988 “‘The Spirit Sings’ and the Future of
Anthropology.” Anthropology Today. 4(6): 6-10. JSTOR.
Wrightson, Kelsey. 2017. “The Limits of Recognition: The Spirit
Sings, Canadian Museums and the Colonial Politics of Recognition.”
Museum Anthropology. 40(1): 36–51.
Moran, Mayo.
2018. “The Macron Report and How we Right History’s Wrongs.” The Globe
and Mail. 27 December 2018.
Pursuing the central course issues
of issues related to methods of data collection, form of presentation,
and content in the context of ethnography/anthropology.
What is a museum?
http://archives.icom.museum/definition.html
http://www.show.me.uk/editorial/1220-what-is-a-museum
How might anthropology have a role in a museum?
What does a museum curator do?
What was the Glenbow Museum “Spirit Sings” controversy about?
- Calgary Olympics
- Lubicon Cree: http://www.lubiconlakeband.ca/ or https://www.lubiconlakenation.ca/
- land claims, had not signed a treaty, oil exploration
- sponsorship by Shell
- composition of curatorial committee
What does Harrison argue about the controversy and the reception of the exhibit?
- what time line does she give?
- what does she say about the actions of the Lubicon and CESCE?
- what does she say about the role of the museum? Of sponsors? Of politics?
What was the impact of this controversy on Canadian museums?
- Report of the Canadian Task Force on Museums and First Peoples: https://museums.in1touch.org/uploaded/web/docs/Task_Force_Report_1994.pdf
ICOM resolution No. 11 from November 1986 https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICOMs-Resolutions_1986_Eng.pdf
Resolution No. 11: Participation of Ethnic Groups in Museum Activities
Whereas
there are increasing concerns on the part of ethnic groups regarding
the ways in which they and their cultures are portrayed in museum
exhibitions and programmes,
The 15th General Assembly of ICOM, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 4 November 1986,
Recommends that:
1.
Museums which are engaged in activities relating to living ethnic
groups, should, whenever possible, consult with the appropriate members
of those groups, and
2. Such museums should avoid using ethnic
materials in any way which might be detrimental to the group that
produced them; their usage should be in keeping with the spirit of the
ICOM Code of Professional Ethics, with particular reference to
paragraphs 2.8 and 6.7.
- also see: https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/110825_Checklist_print.pdf
Wrightson:
-
what does Wrightson say has happened as a result of the changes in
Canadian museological practice after The Spirit Sings exhibit?
- how have the “politics of recognition” led to a new way of entrenching settler-Indigenous hierarchies?
- what does Wrightson say a museum should do?
Moran: how positive is it that France has decided to return African artifacts? Consider with respect to Wrightson’s arguments.