Since its creation, the ethnographic museums have aimed to represent the other cultures. The most recent trends in museology have encouraged the ethnographic museums to go beyond the discovery and to create a space of intercultural dialogue. This thesis analyses the impact of multiculturalism and postcolonialism on the temporary exhibitions organised at the National Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum ‘L. Pigorini’. The study is conducted on the African heritage and in the selected period 1994-2014. The research is carried out pinpointing three main channels through which the two ideological orientations could penetrate in the museum practices. By the evaluation of the exhibitions, this study provides a new methodology for the understanding of the influences of the most recent trends in museology within the museum contexts.

Este artículo se propone analizar algunos aspectos de la trayectoria inicial del Museo Etnográfico —de 1904 a 1917—, período caracterizado por la dirección del arqueólogo Juan B. Ambrosetti (1865-1917). El objetivo es dar cuenta de la situación del establecimiento en el circuito museológico extendido, la inserción de su director en los ámbitos de sociabilidad, las conexiones con coleccionistas, amateurs, funcionarios e instituciones análogas, las redes de intercambio de favores y recursos, y las estrategias para la adquisición y formación de sus colecciones. A lo que se aspira, pues, es a un entendimiento de las tramas de poder, mecenazgo e influencia alrededor de las cuales un espacio intelectual determinado fue ganando credibilidad, legitimidad y el prestigio necesarios para dotar a la disciplina del capital simbólico y social esperado. La tesis que se sustenta es que, en su fase formativa, las disciplinas antropológicas se modularon y obtuvieron reconocimiento sobre la base de alianzas, generalmente de tipo informal, con instituciones y agentes no pertenecientes a la comunidad de referencia. / This article intends to analyse some aspects of the initial trajectory of the Ethnographic Museum —from 1904 to 1917— period characterized by the direction of archaeologist Juan B. Ambrosetti (1865-1917). The aim is to give an account of the situation of the establishment in the museological circuit locally and internationally, the inclusion of the director in the spheres of sociality, connections with collectors, amateurs, civil servants and similar institutions, networks for the exchange of favors and resources, and strategies for acquisition and training of their collections. What aims, therefore, is an understanding of the plots of power, patronage and influence around which a given intellectual space gained credibility, legitimacy and the prestige necessary to equip the discipline of the expected social and symbolic capital. The thesis supported is that, in their formative stage, anthropological disciplines were modulated and gained recognition on the basis of partnerships, generally of informal kind with institutions and agents not belonging to the community of reference.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis is essentially about how Malawi’s national heritage was constituted, in particular how heritage emerged and how it has changed over time. It largely looks at the period from 1964 to 2009. This is significant period which covers the transition from colonialism to independence; dictatorship and the emergence of multiparty democracy. The study explores the changing governments during this period in relation to how knowledge about Malawi’s pasts were constructed and reconstructed as heritage using different cultural forms: national museums, ethnic festivals, cultural performances, national language, commemorations and memorials (monuments, commemorative days and biographical memory) and the framing of traditions and customs into what is referred to as intangible cultural heritage. The overarching question of the research is what changes were made to national heritage in relation to the changing of governments during this period? In response to this question multiple historical modes of inquiry were used to study and examine the production of different aspects of heritage during this period.