Museum History

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Cultural treasures of the world

(2024-07-11) , Diana Loxley, Kirsty Seymour-Ure and Marek Walisiewicsz.

The first objects deliberately crafted by our distance ancestors around three milion years ago were stone tools - essentially pebbles given a sharp edge by striking them against other rocks. They proved so perfectly fit for their purpose that they remained in use for a million years. Over time, human ingenuity provided for other essentials, giving us the first weapons around 300,00 years ago, clothing 70,000 years ago, ceramic pots 20,000 years ago, and implements made of bronze 5,000 years ago and of iron 3,200 years ago. The same human impulse to improve everyday life has driven the technologies that shape our world today.

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Legacies of an imperial city the Museum of London 1976-2007

(2024-01-03) , Samuel Aylett.

This comprehensive history of the Museum of London traces the ways that the relationship between Britain and its imperial past has changed over the course of three decades, providing a holistic approach to galleries’ shifts from Victorian nostalgia to equitable representations. At its 1976 opening, the Museum of London differed from other museums in its treatment of empire and colonialism as central to its galleries. In response to the public’s evolving social and political attitudes, the museum’s 1993–1994 ‘The Peopling of London’ exhibition marked a new approach in creating inclusive displays, which explore the impact of immigration and multiculturalism on British history. Through photos, planning documents, and archival research, this book analyses museums’ role in enacting change in the public’s understanding of history, and this book is the first to critically engage with the Museum of London’s theme of empire, particularly in consideration of recent exhibitions. Legacies of an Imperial City is a useful resource for academics and researchers of postcolonial history and museum studies, as well as any student of urban history.

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Of whales and dinosaurs

(2024-05-18) , Kevin Y.L. Tan

Officially established in 1878, the natural history collection originally housed at the Raffles Museum now has more than 560,000 specimens in its care, one of the largest collections of Southeast Asian plants and animals. Dedicated to scientific research and education, the museum was reincarnated as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015, closing the loop on its remarkable 127-year history. But beneath the sleek exterior of the museum's new, modern building lies a saga of struggle and change. That the collections survived at all through the multiple challenges of the nineteenth century, the disruption of World War Two, and its potential disintegration in the face of Singapore's modernization is nothing short of miraculous. This book is not only an institutional history of the museum but also recounts the frustrations, tenacity, and courage of the numerous individuals who battled officialdom, innovated endlessly, and overcame the odds to protect Singapore's natural history heritage.

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The Landscape of Historical Memory

(2024-01-02) , Kirk A. Denton

The divide between East Asia’s “Blue Camp” (Nationalist Party) and “Green Camp” (Democratic Progressive Party) has stirred considerable debate about how we should remember Cold War politics in East Asia. Recently, that conversation has been focused on museums. The Landscape of Historical Memory contributes to this ongoing dialogue by analyzing not only the presence of the Blue Camp and the Green Camp in Taiwan’s museums but also the state of these museums over the past three decades. The book also considers political involvement in the establishment, architectural design, and historical narratives of museums within the contexts of museums focused on archaeology, history, war, literature, ethnology, and ecosystems; martyrs’ shrines; and memorial halls. By examining the political narratives that surround Taiwan’s museums, The Landscape of Historical Memory offers readers a compelling exploration of how culture, history, and memory shape identities in Taiwan’s postcolonial landscape, the place of museums in a neoliberal economic climate, and the politics of historical memory in an emergent democracy.

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Museums of the Arabian Peninsula Historical Developments and Contemporary Discourses

(2024-02-14) , Edited By Sarina Wakefield

Museums of the Arabian Peninsula offers new insights into the history and development of museums within the region. Recognising and engaging with varied approaches to museum development and practice, the book offers in-depth critical analyses from a range of viewpoints and disciplines. Drawing on regional and international scholarship, the book provides a critical and detailed analysis of museum and heritage institutions in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen. Questioning and engaging with issues related to the institutionalisation of cultural heritage, contributors provide original analyses of current practice and challenges within the region. Considering how these challenges connect to broader issues within the international context, the book offers the opportunity to examine how museums are actively produced and consumed from both the inside and the outside. This critical analysis also enables debates to emerge that question the appropriateness of existing models and methods and provide suggestions for future research and practice. Museums of the Arabian Peninsula offers fresh perspectives that reveal how Gulf museums operate from local, regional and transnational perspectives. The volume will be a key reference point for academics and students working in the fields of museum and heritage studies, anthropology, cultural studies, history, politics and Gulf and Middle East Studies.

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Siam's foreign relations in the reign of King Mongkut, 1851-1868

(2024-01-03) , Neon Snidvongs.

The International Studies Center (ISC) wishes to express its deep appreciation to the family of the late Thanpuying Neon Snidvongs, through her nephew Dr. Anond Snidvongs, for permitting the ISC to publish for the first time her doctoral thesis “The Development of Siamese Relations with Britain and France in the Reign of Maha Mongkut, 1851-1868”, under the title “Siam’s Foreign Relations in the Reign of King Mongkut, 1851-1868”, as another volume in the ISC’s series of books on diplomatic history. Following the practice with theses that the ISC has published, editorial changes were made only when necessary or prudent in order to keep the book as close as possible to the original thesis submitted to The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in 1960. The original spelling of personal and place names have also been retained. The conclusion of the Bowring Treaty with Great Britain in 1855, at the beginning of the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV), ushered in the new era of Siam’s (as Thailand was then known) relations with Western nations. Under the Bowring and the “Bowring-type” Treaties, Siam relinquished its autonomy in judicial and fiscal matters to these Western countries. But what had begun as purely commercial relations soon took on a more political nature. The change was due mainly to the impetuous entrance of France into Indo-China, following the establishment of a French colony at the mouth of the Mekong River in 1862. Subsequent colonial expansion caused further problems for Siam. Consequently, Siam’s foreign policy was highlighted by its efforts to maintain independence in the face of encroaching colonial powers. In Thanpuying Neon’s work, Siam’s policies in dealing with Britain and France were examined in detail, based on Siamese, British and French archival materials, which had not yet been analysed extensively by that time. Her meticulous use of these archival materials gave us a tantalizing glimpse into the negotiations and diplomatic relations between Siam and the two major powers, the process as well as the characters involved. Her work clearly showed how Siam was able to adjust to the changing circumstances and how King Mongkut contributed to the formation of Siam’s foreign policy. The ISC believes that this work is crucial to the understanding of modern Thai diplomacy and hopes that readers will find it a useful source material on the subject of Siam’s foreign relations.

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