Final Project (M.A.)--John F. Kennedy University, 2006. / "July 18, 2006"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 294-330). Also available on the Internet.

This thesis consists primarily of a detailed account of an experimental exhibition installed at the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia. The exhibit is termed "experimental" because it was an attempt to do something new in the field of visual education and thereby to provide one possible solution to the problem of the increasing gap between museum and theoretical anthropology. In recent years this problem has become so acute that many academics can find nothing good at all to say about the work of museum-based anthropologists, let alone collaborate with them, and vice versa. While this fact in itself does not necessarily constitute cause for alarm, it seemed to this student that a great deal could be gained from a rapprochement of the two branches, and after careful consideration that the exhibition hall was an excellent place to demonstrate this. To this end I designed an exhibit which uses the most important assets of any museum — its collections — in a new way: instead of the artifacts being ends in themselves, they are employed as means for conveying one of the current issues of theoretical anthropology — the concept of exchange, and the whole display is arranged to raise questions, rather than answer them, and to stimulate new thinking. In this way it was hoped to demonstrate the possibility of introducing into the museum some of the exciting ideas under study by the theorists, and at the same time to indicate the advantages of looking at some of these concepts from the point of view of the goods involved. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-307). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2009. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-307). Also available in print.

In order to illustrate why museums are frequently sites of conflict and mediation, this dissertation examines the complex conditions under which knowledge is produced and disseminated at three Canadian museums. Approaching museums as social arenas or contact zones, the dissertation exposes power struggles in museums and dislodges a whole set of assumptions about what museums are and how they function. For the study I selected the following museums with anthropological mandates: MacBride Museum (Whitehorse), Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (Yellowknife), and Vancouver Museum (Vancouver). The three museums were chosen because their geographical proximity to large communities of Aboriginal Peoples enabled an exploration of the changing relationships between them. Historically, museums have held the power to classify and define Aboriginal Peoples. Relatively recently, however Aboriginal Peoples have in various ways (by imposing constraints on how they and their cultures are exhibited, and through land claims and repatriation requests) been challenging their historic relationships with museums. In chapter one I discuss my objectives, methodology, and the work of those scholars who shaped this dissertation. Chapter two explores the invention of museums in the western world and begins linking the three Canadian museums with knowledge and power. In chapters three, four, and five I portray the mobility and productivity of three museums (MacBride Museum, PWNHC, and Vancouver Museum) in three distinct regions of Canada. I illustrate their ability to articulate identity, power, and tradition as well as the role they perform in the social organization of power relations. Each chapter begins with a description of the historical roots of power relations at each institution. This leads into a discussion of each museum's present system of authority: the state, governing bodies, professional staff and, increasingly, Aboriginal representatives. In the process I reveal some of the political pressures, institutional hierarchies, and personal conflicts that shape knowledge within these institutions. Chapter six is a review and critical analysis of systems of authority of the three museums and the challenges presented by Aboriginal Peoples. I conclude with the issues raised at the outset, which continue to confront the Canadian museum community, issues of inclusion and the limitations of cross-cultural translation, repatriation, and representation.

This thesis contributes to the knowledge of museology, anthropology and Native American studies. It is an analysis of the discourse that surrounded The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada's First Peoples, an exhibition prepared by the Glenbow in Calgary as the 'flagship' of the Olympic Arts Festival in 1988. After the Lubicon Indians of Northern Alberta called for a boycott of The Spirit Sings, in attempt to draw critical attention to their long outstanding lands claim, a large and heated debate ensued involving several disciplines, particularly anthropology and museology. Much of this debate took place in the print media, therefore a large body of material remains to be reviewed and studied. The intent of this thesis is to illustrate that the issue of museological representation of First Nations was one of the most central themes discussed in the discourse, but to argue that the major players dealt with this issue on only the most concrete level and therefore largely neglected to recognize that the issue of First Nation's representation was not just a concern over museum interpretation but more importantly an issue of the contested authenticity of national and cultural claims. / vi, 335 p. ; 29 cm.

This study explores representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs with a view to identifying implications thereof for the quality and relevance of heritage education practices in post colonial southern Africa. Framed within a critical hermeneutic research paradigm under-laboured by critical realist ontology, the study was conducted using a multiple case study research design. The data collection protocol was three-phased, starting with a process of contextual profiling, within which insights were gained into discourses shaping the constitution and orientation of heritage education practices at the Albany Museum in South Africa, the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Zimbabwe and the Supa Ngwao Museum in Botswana. The second phase of data collection entailed modelling workshops in which educators engaged in discussion around the status of heritage education in post apartheid South Africa. This highlighted, through modelled lessons, some of the tensions, challenges and implications for working with notions of social transformation and inclusivity in heritage education. The third phase of data collection involved in-depth interviews. Twelve purposively selected research participants were interviewed between 2010 and 2011. Data generated across the study was processed and subjected to different levels of critical discourse analysis. Besides noting how heritage education in post colonial southern Africa is poorly framed and under-researched, this study revealed that current forms of representing indigenous heritage constructs are influenced more by socio-political discourses than the need to protect and conserve local heritage resources. The study also noted that the observed heritage education practices are oriented more towards addressing issues related to marginalisation and alienation of indigenous cultures and practices, than enhancing learners’ agency to manage and utilise local heritage resources in a more sustainable ways. Based on these findings the study recommends re-positioning heritage education within the framework of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD acknowledges both issues of social justice and the dialectical interplay between nature and culture; as such, it may allow for representation and use of indigenous heritage constructs in ways that expand current political orientations to include sustainability as an additional objective of heritage education. Given that little research focusing on heritage education has been undertaken within southern Africa, the findings of this study provide a basis upon which future research may emerge.

In order to illustrate why museums are frequently sites of conflict and mediation, this dissertation examines the complex conditions under which knowledge is produced and disseminated at three Canadian museums. Approaching museums as social arenas or contact zones, the dissertation exposes power struggles in museums and dislodges a whole set of assumptions about what museums are and how they function. For the study I selected the following museums with anthropological mandates: MacBride Museum (Whitehorse), Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (Yellowknife), and Vancouver Museum (Vancouver). The three museums were chosen because their geographical proximity to large communities of Aboriginal Peoples enabled an exploration of the changing relationships between them. Historically, museums have held the power to classify and define Aboriginal Peoples. Relatively recently, however Aboriginal Peoples have in various ways (by imposing constraints on how they and their cultures are exhibited, and through land claims and repatriation requests) been challenging their historic relationships with museums. In chapter one I discuss my objectives, methodology, and the work of those scholars who shaped this dissertation. Chapter two explores the invention of museums in the western world and begins linking the three Canadian museums with knowledge and power. In chapters three, four, and five I portray the mobility and productivity of three museums (MacBride Museum, PWNHC, and Vancouver Museum) in three distinct regions of Canada. I illustrate their ability to articulate identity, power, and tradition as well as the role they perform in the social organization of power relations. Each chapter begins with a description of the historical roots of power relations at each institution. This leads into a discussion of each museum's present system of authority: the state, governing bodies, professional staff and, increasingly, Aboriginal representatives. In the process I reveal some of the political pressures, institutional hierarchies, and personal conflicts that shape knowledge within these institutions. Chapter six is a review and critical analysis of systems of authority of the three museums and the challenges presented by Aboriginal Peoples. I conclude with the issues raised at the outset, which continue to confront the Canadian museum community, issues of inclusion and the limitations of cross-cultural translation, repatriation, and representation. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate