Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections

The Crisis of Cultural Authority

Nonfiction, History, Civilization, World History, Art & Architecture, General Art
Cover of the book Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections by Tiffany Jenkins, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tiffany Jenkins ISBN: 9781136897856
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: December 14, 2010
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Tiffany Jenkins
ISBN: 9781136897856
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: December 14, 2010
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Since the late 1970s human remains in museum collections have been subject to claims and controversies, such as demands for repatriation by indigenous groups who suffered under colonization. These requests have been strongly contested by scientists who research the material and consider it unique evidence.

This book charts the influences at play on the contestation over human remains and examines the construction of this problem from a cultural perspective. It shows that claims on dead bodies are not confined to once colonized groups. A group of British Pagans, Honouring the Ancient Dead, formed to make claims on skeletons from the British Isles, and ancient human remains, bog bodies and Egyptian mummies, which have not been requested by any group, have become the focus of campaigns initiated by members of the profession, at times removed from display in the name of respect.

By drawing on empirical research including extensive interviews with the claims-making groups, ethnographic work, document, media, and policy analysis, Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections demonstrates that strong internal influences do in fact exist. The only book to examine the construction of contestation over human remains from a sociological perspective, it advances an emerging area of academic research, setting the terms of debate, synthesizing disparate ideas, and making sense of a broader cultural focus on dead bodies in the contemporary period.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Since the late 1970s human remains in museum collections have been subject to claims and controversies, such as demands for repatriation by indigenous groups who suffered under colonization. These requests have been strongly contested by scientists who research the material and consider it unique evidence.

This book charts the influences at play on the contestation over human remains and examines the construction of this problem from a cultural perspective. It shows that claims on dead bodies are not confined to once colonized groups. A group of British Pagans, Honouring the Ancient Dead, formed to make claims on skeletons from the British Isles, and ancient human remains, bog bodies and Egyptian mummies, which have not been requested by any group, have become the focus of campaigns initiated by members of the profession, at times removed from display in the name of respect.

By drawing on empirical research including extensive interviews with the claims-making groups, ethnographic work, document, media, and policy analysis, Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections demonstrates that strong internal influences do in fact exist. The only book to examine the construction of contestation over human remains from a sociological perspective, it advances an emerging area of academic research, setting the terms of debate, synthesizing disparate ideas, and making sense of a broader cultural focus on dead bodies in the contemporary period.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Valuing Historic Environments by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Generation 1.5 in College Composition by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Networks of Music and Culture in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book The International Politics of Eurasia by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book The Economic Merry-Go-Round (RLE: Business Cycles) by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Social Humanism by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Cyberhenge by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Gender and the Koseki In Contemporary Japan by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Colloquial Chinese by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Negotiating Adult-Child Relationships in Early Childhood Research by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Scene Thinking by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book The Fundamental Forms of Social Thought by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book High-Technology Entrepreneurship by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book American Space/American Place by Tiffany Jenkins
Cover of the book Comparative Political Thought by Tiffany Jenkins
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy