There is a felling inside of Heritage studies of a sort of self-loathing; a regret for the actions of our ancestors in regards to other people’s heritage. This feeling manifests itself in many ways – some positive, some negative. In the next post we will look at Repatriation of objects. However, before we get to that topic we must first understand where we are and why these objects are in “our” possession. This post will look at this in the overall topic of the limits that representation have.
The big push to collect objects came during the colonial period in most countries of the west. The empire was the center of the “world”. The desire was to collect more countries and more people. To show the reach of the empire, objects were collected and brought back to display – sort of like trophies. Good things came of this such as better maps, recognition and cultivation of interest in other past civilizations, and a better sense of world history. But bad also came of it. The world back “home” went crazy over it! “Egyptomania” swept the west (as one example) to such a degree that people actually ate powdered mummy.
World expos, world fairs, museums, and libraries sprang up to great reception. “Rational Recreation” became the “in” thing to do for holiday. People went not only to see but to be seen. Because all classes were allowed to attend, “democracy” was lauded. Social norms swept society as people were expected to act in certain ways in public (“Public Manners”). And governments turned all this to their advantage through the building of national pride, as well as, to demonstrate power.
In a way, this still happens today. Think of the “Bird’s Nest” or the “Water Cube” in China during the last summer Olympics. Why do countries (not just China) go to such expense for buildings that will be largely abandoned after a few weeks of use?
People were also on display either as “Freaks” or as “Trophies” (dwarfs, pigmies as “freaks” and conquered peoples of different skin color as “trophies”). These were “exhibited” in circuses and fairs. Do we do this today? Perhaps not in as crude a manner but amusement parks, zoos, and natural history museums still do to an extent. Think of Disney’s making the fake, real (“live” Mickey Mouse) and the real, fake (mechanical animals that can be “controlled”). Or the stuffed animals on display in the natural history museums of the world or the ancient man displays.
With this as a backdrop the questions arise. What should be or shouldn’t be seen? Whose heritage is it? Should it be displayed? Why or why not? If it should, then how should it? Do we use the old museology model of the temple, library, and cabinet? Do we try the new museology model of representing the foreign, having a dialogue, and empowering the “other”?
How you answer these questions reveals a lot about your world view, how you were raised, your “self” recognition, and the choices you still choose to make.
As for me?
I am not a reactionary. I also do not accept that everything in the past was wrong. Nor do I feel the need to turn back the clock and try to “right” “wrongs”. No one who did these things is alive today. No one today is responsible for the things that ancestors did. We might benefit or suffer from the activities of those who went before us. But this does not make us guilty or “lesser” of a person. We can learn from their mistakes as well as their successes. But the best we can do is to move forward and try not to repeat the mistakes while trying to emulate their successes. We can love each other and respect other people’s world views and cultures. Together we can do better. How we do this “better” needs to be a dialogue and not a monologue. (This is the part where you post a comment…)
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