Canadian Museums and the Representation of Culture in a Multicultural Nation

Museums are a principal agency for defining culture, largely through their determination of which elements of the past are of value, memorable and worthy of preservation. This defines the present as much as the past. In the context of postmodernism, this authority is under challenge, as is the whole...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cultural dynamics 1995-03, Vol.7 (1), p.15-36
Main Authors: Macdonald, George F., Alsford, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Cultural Pluralism
Culture
Ethnic Groups
Museums
Plural Societies
Representation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Museums are a principal agency for defining culture, largely through their determination of which elements of the past are of value, memorable and worthy of preservation. This defines the present as much as the past. In the context of postmodernism, this authority is under challenge, as is the whole issue of who defines culture. Examines the changing relationship between human history museums and aboriginal and ethnic communities in the context of Canadian multiculturalism. Examples of conflict and cooperation provide a basis for exploring the politics of representation.
ISSN:0921-3740
1461-7048
DOI:10.1177/092137409500700102