Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era (Heritage: Care-Preservation-Management) [Hardcover]

Moira G. Simpson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0415067855 | ISBN-13: 978-0415067850 | Edition: 1

Drawing upon material from Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Making Representations explores the ways in which museums and anthropologists are responding to pressures in the field by developing new policies and practices, and forging new relationships with communities.

Simpson examines the increasing number of museums and cultural centres being established by indigenous and immigrant communities as they take control of the interpretive process and challenge the traditional role of the museum.

Museum studies students and museum professionals will all find this a stimulating and valuable read.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This book is a fundamental re-evaluation of the contemporary role of anthropology and social history in museums in the post-colonial era.' - Museums Journal

'Making Representations is a beautifully double-edged title. It expresses the activity of museums as they display and interpret cultures, but also voices the growing demands of the peoples represented to be involved in the way their culture is presented in museums.' - Gillian Crowther, Museums Journal

'The book is well presented and illustrated. This is a genuinely helpful contribution to museum thinking and should become a standard museum studies text.' - Gaynor Kavanagh, University of Leicester

About the Author

Moira Simpson is in the Department of Art Education at the University of Warwick.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 6, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415067855
• ISBN-13: 978-0415067850
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,187,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for a college class, December 30, 2011

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BOB (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era (Heritage: Care-Preservation-Management) (Paperback)

This is a pretty good book about preservation of artifacts that can be used for a college class where there is a lot of group discussion. Each chapter talks about Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, and other indigenous people that are trying to preserve their identity and their culture through museum representation. However, many of these people feel like they are not represented fairly since museums tend to try and make it fun for visitors to go to museums, rather than representing people how they really were; proud native people with rich cultural values. Many museums are all focused on their profits, rather than on things that many people hold sacred. There is also discussion on whether it is fair to move objects from their original burial sites and place them in museums, or should they be returned to local Native population as objects of tremendous cultural value. It is a perfect book for discussion since it deals with controversial topics of museum representation.