Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums

by Michael M. Ames

Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes poses a number of probing questions about the role and responsibility of museums and anthropology in the contemporary world. In it, Michael Ames, an internationally renowned museum director, challenges popular concepts and criticisms of museums and presents an alternate perspective which reflects his experiences from many years of museum work. Based on the author’s previous book, Museums, the Public and Anthropology , the new edition includes seven new essays which argue, as in the previous volume, that museums and anthropologists must contextualize and critique themselves – they must analyse and critique the social, political and economic systems within which they work. In the new essays, Ames looks at the role of consumerism and the market economy in the production of such phenomena as worlds’ fairs and McDonald’s hamburger chains, referring to them as “museums of everyday life” and indicating the way in which they, like museums, transform ideology into commonsense, thus reinforcing and perpetuating hegemonic control over how people think about and represent themselves. He also discusses the moral/political ramifications of conflicting attitudes towards Aboriginal art (is it art or artifact?); censorship (is it liberating or repressive?); and museum exhibits (are they informative or disinformative?). The earlier essays outline the development of museums in the Western world, the problems faced by anthropologists in attempting to deal with the often conflicting demands of professional as opposed to public interests, the tendency to both fabricate and stereotype, and the need to establish a reciprocal rather than exploitative relationship between museums/anthropologists and Aboriginal people. Written during the course of the last decade, these essays offer an accessible, often anecdotal, journey through one professional anthropologist’s concerns about, and hopes for, his discipline and its fu

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Museums, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What they show, why they show it, where do they get it?

Museums have a long history, but for most of that time they were just for rich people who accumulated curious or beautiful objects for themselves. Their friends or the people they wanted to impress got to see things, otherwise the public had no access. Museums open to the public generally began in the 19th century. Ames concentrates mainly on anthropological museums. He rightly notes early on that besides the exhibits, such museums also display the power structures of the society that puts them up. The modern technical design and production of a large-scale exhibit on other cultures contrasts with the items being shown because the latter are "captive items" taken or "collected" by specialists from those who don't (or didn't used to) have museums. A large museum of art or anthropology is a necessary part of a city's image of sophistication, he points out on page 101. Such museums express in many ways the basic values and world view of their society. WE---the modern people---put YOUR stuff in an exhibit, but all around you see our grand technology. As education and globalization spread, the once-"primitive" people begin to resent their lower status as represented in museums and demand the return of objects or they construct their own museums in which they represent themselves as they wish. The examples here are all drawn from various Canadian museums and Canadian society.
There are some basic questions discussed here, but not in full. These are "What is knowledge and who can produce it and spread it?" "How should other cultures be exhibited---or, if you like, what should be put in a museum?" "What is the difference between beautiful objects of our civilization and those of others?" Also, "What is public taste and who has the right to determine it?" The author also goes into many of the internal problems faced by anthropology museums such as the divide between research and public relations. If any of these questions interest you, you might give this book a shot. I wouldn't say it is the best organized book I've ever read and the topics go by quite quickly. But, for getting into a most interesting subject, this is probably an excellent introduction.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of you interested in Musuem, how they work and the changes. This book is very enlightening.

[Jenn Kause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great discussion of anthropology and the relationship with museums!