Review of the textbook ‘Introduction to Museum Studies and Monument Studies’

Introduction to Museum and Monument Studies book edited by Professor Olena Honcharova, DSc in Cultural Studies, and Associate Professor Serhii Pustovalov, DSc in History, is devoted to topical issues of museum and monument protection, museum studies history and theory, museum staff archaeology training, legislative support for the museum industry, examination of historical and cultural values; presents the views of leading Ukrainian and world scientists and experts on solving current problems in this area. The book is addressed to students, graduate students of field-oriented higher education institutions, museum and heritage conservation staff. For the first time, the textbook comprehensively provides the basics of both programme subject area components: museum studies and monument studies.

Speculation with the Term ‘Museum’ in the Names of Consumer Infrastructure Entities and on the Pages of the Periodical Press

The purpose of the article is to outline the current problems in modern museum studies regarding the negative impact on the public perception of museum activities of the manipulation of the term ‘museum’ in the names of consumer infrastructure and periodicals. Research methodology. General scientific research methods were used, in particular historical, method of analysis, typological, method of analogies, method of generalization. Scientific novelty. The state and degree of speculation research with the term ‘museum’ in the names of elements of consumer infrastructure are determined. It is revealed that such a phenomenon did not originate in the 21st century but has existed since pre-Soviet times. It is determined why the speculation process with the term ‘museum’ is so popular in Ukraine and abroad. Conclusions. The article reflects the position of the authors on the use of the term ‘museum’ in the names of consumer infrastructure institutions – cafes, restaurants; usually carried out in order to use the authority of museums to attract new customers and consumers. Today it is popular to decorate catering establishments and cafes using antiques without investing in a special concept or design. A proposal was made to amend the legislation on the names of legal entities.

MUSEUM ETHNOGRAPHY IN THE CONTEXT OF ETHNOGRAPHIC FINNO-UGRIC STUDIES IN THE USSR (1920s-1930s)

This paper offers a discussion of the role of ethnographic Finno-Ugric studies in Soviet nation building. In particular, it is concerned with the issue of representation of ethnicity/ethnic identity in various fields of museum studies: expeditions, local history, educational work, and exhibition activities. Special attention is paid to the field studies of Moscow and Leningrad ethnographers who participated in the formation of collections of regional museums of local lore and the construction of “authentic” visual images of Finno-Ugric peoples in the Soviet ethnographic portrait of the “family of peoples of the USSR”. One of the key questions is how the ethnographic reality and the transformative perspective of Soviet nation building correlated in the expedition practice. The role of the institute of museums in national movements is emphasized in recent studies of the history of Russian ethnography and the implementation of various ethnographic projects. In the authors’ opinion, ethnographers who conducted expert and scientific research, acted as intermediaries in the dialogue/conflict between local communities and authorities in building a regional national discourse.

Take that COVID! Positive Documents Emerging from the Museum Sector

Although the field of museology has discussed many concepts found in other positive disciplines, such as flow in positive psychology, the field itself has not yet developed a purposeful framework for positive museology. A long history of research in museum studies and on museal endeavors reveals aspects of a positive approach already exist but have yet to be woven together into a synthetic whole. In 2020-2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, museums themselves showed their positive strengths and virtues through documents such as social media and field-wide communication, revealing their capacity for a positive approach. This paper uses a developing framework for a positive museology as a starting point to exhibit the capacity of museums as sites for essential human flourishing

"Walking the Talk"? An Ethnography of Biculturalism at Te Papa

<p>This thesis examines the implications of a bicultural framework for the everyday interactions of Māori and non-Māori staff at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (TP thereafter). The research addresses gaps in the New Zealand literature on biculturalism, which has not hitherto explored the internal dynamics of cultural organisations in depth,as well as issues in the international literature of anthropology, museum studies and related fields to do with museums, indigenous people and cultural identity. The central research question is: how does biculturalism work in practice at TP? The approach is qualitative using mixed-methods, based on twelve months intensive fieldwork behind the scenes at New Zealand’s national museum. Drawing on 68 interviews and participant observations with 18 different teams across the organisation, the thesis explores how biculturalism is enacted, negotiated, practised and envisioned on different stages within the complex social institution that is the museum. Rather than seeing TP as a single bicultural entity, my analysis suggests that TP is a convoluted amalgam of several stages encompassing ‘contact zones’ where Māori and non-Māori engage to varying degrees. I propose that TP’s marae is the centre stage for Māori activities and rituals that serve a number of functions: to position people through mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion, display power, facilitate intercultural dialogue, empower Māori, and transform non-Māori through meaningful experiences. Throughout the thesis, I argue that biculturalism is neither an innocent aspiration nor a means to an end, but an ongoing struggle and negotiation process. The importance of ethnography to the anthropological enterprise and museum studies research is reaffirmed through this study; not only does this ethnographic study provide insights into museum practices, but also the complex processes of ‘grappling with biculturalism’, interactions between diverse museum staff as well as positioning of indigenous peoples in settler societies.</p>

He mana taonga, he mana tangata: Māori taonga and the politics of Māori tribal identity and development

<p>In museum studies, museums have been examined in terms of their historical role in collecting and exhibiting the culture of colonized peoples, and their contemporary participation in identity politics, repatriation and relationships with source communities, but their role in indigenous tribal development has never been the focus of a major study. This thesis sets out to examine this phenomenon and thereby address a major gap in the literature. In New Zealand, Māori tribes are actively pursuing social, cultural and economic development initiatives as an expression of their mana motuhake or self-determination. The development ethos that is guiding many of these tribes has at its core the wellbeing of their people and the importance of their culture and tribal identity to social and economic development. The research into this extraordinary politics of Māori tribal identity and development seeks to understand the role Māori taonga play both historically and within contemporary Māori communities as part of tribal self-determination and the advancement of Māori development and identity. The questions framing the study include the following: What is the nature of Māori taonga and what is their relationship with the politics of Māori tribal identity and development? What value are museums, collections of taonga or other cultural heritage in the process of iwi development which is taking place during the Waitangi claims process and Post Settlement phase? Using a research methodology that incorporates a Kaupapa Māori paradigm, as well as methodologies used in museum studies and related fields, this research investigates the experiences of a number of Māori tribes with regard to their tribal taonga and cultural heritage projects including tribal exhibitions. Major case studies include Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou along with an examination of secondary sources such, as tribal websites, tribal visions and strategic plans, and other published materials. The research findings demonstrate that taonga are important and enduring symbols of Māori identity, which are often used in the assertion and promotion of tribal self-determination and development. Māori tribal values such as mana, whakapapa, manaakitanga, tikanga, kōrero, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga along with taonga related kupu (words) shape and influence many tribal development strategies. The literature and interviews from tribal members confirm the enduring significance of taonga to whānau, hapū and iwi. The research demonstrates the role taonga play in sustaining the inter-generational continuity of tribal culture and the ‘connectedness’ of taonga to the wider culture, including the pivotal role they play in informing and shaping tribal development futures.</p>

"Walking the Talk"? An Ethnography of Biculturalism at Te Papa

<p>This thesis examines the implications of a bicultural framework for the everyday interactions of Māori and non-Māori staff at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (TP thereafter). The research addresses gaps in the New Zealand literature on biculturalism, which has not hitherto explored the internal dynamics of cultural organisations in depth,as well as issues in the international literature of anthropology, museum studies and related fields to do with museums, indigenous people and cultural identity. The central research question is: how does biculturalism work in practice at TP? The approach is qualitative using mixed-methods, based on twelve months intensive fieldwork behind the scenes at New Zealand’s national museum. Drawing on 68 interviews and participant observations with 18 different teams across the organisation, the thesis explores how biculturalism is enacted, negotiated, practised and envisioned on different stages within the complex social institution that is the museum. Rather than seeing TP as a single bicultural entity, my analysis suggests that TP is a convoluted amalgam of several stages encompassing ‘contact zones’ where Māori and non-Māori engage to varying degrees. I propose that TP’s marae is the centre stage for Māori activities and rituals that serve a number of functions: to position people through mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion, display power, facilitate intercultural dialogue, empower Māori, and transform non-Māori through meaningful experiences. Throughout the thesis, I argue that biculturalism is neither an innocent aspiration nor a means to an end, but an ongoing struggle and negotiation process. The importance of ethnography to the anthropological enterprise and museum studies research is reaffirmed through this study; not only does this ethnographic study provide insights into museum practices, but also the complex processes of ‘grappling with biculturalism’, interactions between diverse museum staff as well as positioning of indigenous peoples in settler societies.</p>

He mana taonga, he mana tangata: Māori taonga and the politics of Māori tribal identity and development

<p>In museum studies, museums have been examined in terms of their historical role in collecting and exhibiting the culture of colonized peoples, and their contemporary participation in identity politics, repatriation and relationships with source communities, but their role in indigenous tribal development has never been the focus of a major study. This thesis sets out to examine this phenomenon and thereby address a major gap in the literature. In New Zealand, Māori tribes are actively pursuing social, cultural and economic development initiatives as an expression of their mana motuhake or self-determination. The development ethos that is guiding many of these tribes has at its core the wellbeing of their people and the importance of their culture and tribal identity to social and economic development. The research into this extraordinary politics of Māori tribal identity and development seeks to understand the role Māori taonga play both historically and within contemporary Māori communities as part of tribal self-determination and the advancement of Māori development and identity. The questions framing the study include the following: What is the nature of Māori taonga and what is their relationship with the politics of Māori tribal identity and development? What value are museums, collections of taonga or other cultural heritage in the process of iwi development which is taking place during the Waitangi claims process and Post Settlement phase? Using a research methodology that incorporates a Kaupapa Māori paradigm, as well as methodologies used in museum studies and related fields, this research investigates the experiences of a number of Māori tribes with regard to their tribal taonga and cultural heritage projects including tribal exhibitions. Major case studies include Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou along with an examination of secondary sources such, as tribal websites, tribal visions and strategic plans, and other published materials. The research findings demonstrate that taonga are important and enduring symbols of Māori identity, which are often used in the assertion and promotion of tribal self-determination and development. Māori tribal values such as mana, whakapapa, manaakitanga, tikanga, kōrero, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga along with taonga related kupu (words) shape and influence many tribal development strategies. The literature and interviews from tribal members confirm the enduring significance of taonga to whānau, hapū and iwi. The research demonstrates the role taonga play in sustaining the inter-generational continuity of tribal culture and the ‘connectedness’ of taonga to the wider culture, including the pivotal role they play in informing and shaping tribal development futures.</p>

The Mummy's Complaint: An Object-Biography of the Egyptian Mummies in New Zealand Museums, 1885-1897

<p>Recent years have seen a revival of interest in material objects in the humanities generally, and in Museum Studies in particular. Although the influence of this 'material turn' is still in its early stages, one of the manifestations of the renewed interest in the 'life of things' has been the growth of interest in Actor-Network Theory, a branch of sociological analysis which attempts to reconstruct the networks of agency through which social existence is created and maintained. One of the more controversial aspects of Actor-Network Theory (or ANT) is its willingness to concede a level of agency to non-human and inanimate actors in these 'assemblages'. For Museum Studies, the relevance of this theoretical framework lies in the analysis of museums both as assemblages in their own right, and as actants in a network of other sites, institutions, technologies, ideologies, and objects. Museum objects, long viewed as inert, can be seen instead as participants in the 'shuffle of agency' that constitutes institutions and inducts them into wider patterns of social activity. This dissertation uses the case study of Egyptian mummies in New Zealand museums to gauge the usefulness of an ANT-based approach to writing the 'life-history of objects'. Borrowing the concept of the 'object biography' from Kopytoff and Appadurai, it attempts to construct such a history of the five complete Egyptian mummies in New Zealand’s public museums. Using the principles of Actor-Network Theory, it attempts to trace the ways in which mummies have been constituted as 'meaningful objects' through the examination of the ways in which they have moved through different assemblages, both globally and within New Zealand, during the twelve years from 1885 to 1897. This was the period during which all five Egyptian mummies entered New Zealand collections, traversing networks of imperialism, scientific knowledge, religious knowledge, and exchange. In the course of their movement through these diverse assemblages, the meaning of mummies – inside and outside the public museum – could be construed in radically different ways. This dissertation considers the usefulness of such a methodology for Museum Studies and Material Culture Studies, and considers the potential benefits and pitfalls of writing about assemblages for those who want to consider the life-history of objects.</p>

The Mummy's Complaint: An Object-Biography of the Egyptian Mummies in New Zealand Museums, 1885-1897

<p>Recent years have seen a revival of interest in material objects in the humanities generally, and in Museum Studies in particular. Although the influence of this 'material turn' is still in its early stages, one of the manifestations of the renewed interest in the 'life of things' has been the growth of interest in Actor-Network Theory, a branch of sociological analysis which attempts to reconstruct the networks of agency through which social existence is created and maintained. One of the more controversial aspects of Actor-Network Theory (or ANT) is its willingness to concede a level of agency to non-human and inanimate actors in these 'assemblages'. For Museum Studies, the relevance of this theoretical framework lies in the analysis of museums both as assemblages in their own right, and as actants in a network of other sites, institutions, technologies, ideologies, and objects. Museum objects, long viewed as inert, can be seen instead as participants in the 'shuffle of agency' that constitutes institutions and inducts them into wider patterns of social activity. This dissertation uses the case study of Egyptian mummies in New Zealand museums to gauge the usefulness of an ANT-based approach to writing the 'life-history of objects'. Borrowing the concept of the 'object biography' from Kopytoff and Appadurai, it attempts to construct such a history of the five complete Egyptian mummies in New Zealand’s public museums. Using the principles of Actor-Network Theory, it attempts to trace the ways in which mummies have been constituted as 'meaningful objects' through the examination of the ways in which they have moved through different assemblages, both globally and within New Zealand, during the twelve years from 1885 to 1897. This was the period during which all five Egyptian mummies entered New Zealand collections, traversing networks of imperialism, scientific knowledge, religious knowledge, and exchange. In the course of their movement through these diverse assemblages, the meaning of mummies – inside and outside the public museum – could be construed in radically different ways. This dissertation considers the usefulness of such a methodology for Museum Studies and Material Culture Studies, and considers the potential benefits and pitfalls of writing about assemblages for those who want to consider the life-history of objects.</p>