Making Representations : Museums in the Post-Colonial Era

This new and revised edition looks at the controversy of how traditional western museums have represented non-western cultures. With a new epilogue by the author, this book continues to influence global museum policy.

Responses to controversial exhibitions in recent years have demonstrated the dissatisfaction felt by many indigenous peoples and ethnic groups at the ways in which the western museum traditionally represented their cultures and excluded them from the process of interpretation and display. Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, and other indigenous peoples are now demanding that human remains, sacred objects and other items of cultural property be removed from display and repatriated. Drawing upon the experiences of museum staff and communities across the globe, ''Making Representations'' examines the development of new forms of museological practice. The author also examines the growth of museums, cultural centres and Aboriginal Keeping Places being established by indigenous and immigrant communities as they take control of the interpretive process and challenge the traditional role of the museum.