Curating Community

Museums, Constitutionalism, and the Taming of the Political

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations, Reference & Language, Law
Cover of the book Curating Community by Stacy Douglas, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stacy Douglas ISBN: 9780472122936
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: July 13, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: Stacy Douglas
ISBN: 9780472122936
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: July 13, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

In Curating Community: Museums, Constitutionalism, and the Taming of the Political, Stacy Douglas challenges the centrality of sovereignty in our political and juridical imaginations. Creatively bringing together constitutional, political, and aesthetic theory, Douglas argues that museums and constitutions invite visitors to identify with a prescribed set of political constituencies based on national, ethnic, or anthropocentric premises. In both cases, these stable categories gloss over the radical messiness of the world and ask us to conflate representation with democracy. Yet the museum, when paired with the constitution, can also serve as a resource in the production of alternative imaginations of community. Consequently, Douglas’s key contribution is the articulation of a theory of counter-monumental constitutionalism, using the museum, that seeks to move beyond individual and collective forms of sovereignty that have dominated postcolonial and postapartheid theories of law and commemoration. She insists on the need to reconsider deep questions about how we conceptualize the limits of ourselves, as well as our political communities, in order to attend to everyday questions of justice in the courtroom, the museum, and beyond.
Curating Community is a book for academics, artists, curators, and constitutional designers interested in legacies of violence, transitional justice, and democracy.

 

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

In Curating Community: Museums, Constitutionalism, and the Taming of the Political, Stacy Douglas challenges the centrality of sovereignty in our political and juridical imaginations. Creatively bringing together constitutional, political, and aesthetic theory, Douglas argues that museums and constitutions invite visitors to identify with a prescribed set of political constituencies based on national, ethnic, or anthropocentric premises. In both cases, these stable categories gloss over the radical messiness of the world and ask us to conflate representation with democracy. Yet the museum, when paired with the constitution, can also serve as a resource in the production of alternative imaginations of community. Consequently, Douglas’s key contribution is the articulation of a theory of counter-monumental constitutionalism, using the museum, that seeks to move beyond individual and collective forms of sovereignty that have dominated postcolonial and postapartheid theories of law and commemoration. She insists on the need to reconsider deep questions about how we conceptualize the limits of ourselves, as well as our political communities, in order to attend to everyday questions of justice in the courtroom, the museum, and beyond.
Curating Community is a book for academics, artists, curators, and constitutional designers interested in legacies of violence, transitional justice, and democracy.

 

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book The Laws of the Roman People by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book The Topography of Violence in the Greco-Roman World by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Institutions and Economic Theory by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Snarl by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Classical Spies by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Rebellious Civil Society by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Secular Morality and International Security by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book The Presidential Expectations Gap by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book The End of Normal by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Lebanese Blonde by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Ladies of the Lights by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Acceptable Risks by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Blood Libel by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Nimrod by Stacy Douglas
Cover of the book Electoral Incentives in Congress by Stacy Douglas
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