The Museum of Mankind: Man and Boy in the British Museum Ethnography Department

Ben Burt

Published by Berghahn Books 2019

The Museum of Mankind

Man and Boy in the British Museum Ethnography Department

Ben Burt

Volume 12 in the series Museums and Collections

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781789203035

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Museum of Mankind was an innovative and popular showcase for minority cultures from around the non-Western world from 1970 to 1997. This memoir is a critical appreciation of its achievements in the various roles of a national museum, of the personalities of its staff and of the issues raised in the representation of exotic cultures. Issues of changing museum theory and practice are raised in a detailed case-study that also focuses on the social life of the museum community. This is the first history of a remarkable museum and a memorable interlude in the long history of one of the world’s oldest and greatest museums. Although not presented as an academic study, it should be useful for museum and cultural studies as a well as a wider readership interested in the British Museum.

Author / Editor information

Ben Burt is the longest serving member of staff of the British Museum, having joined in 1968 before graduating in anthropology and returning as Education Officer at the Museum of Mankind from 1974 until it closed in 1997. Building upon his concurrent research in Solomon Islands, published in numbers of books and articles, he moved into academic teaching and curatorial work as the Museum of Mankind was reincorporated into the British Museum in the 2000s. He is now a partly retired curator in the Oceania section of the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
ILLUSTRATIONS Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
ONE. FROM BRITISH MUSEUM TO MUSEUM OF MANKIND Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
TWO. COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
THREE. EXHIBITIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
FOUR. THE STORES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
FIVE. RESEARCH AND COLLECTING Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
SIX. EDUCATION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
SEVEN: BACK TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
EPILOGUE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
APPENDIX. ETHNOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT EXHIBITIONS, 1970 TO 2003 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	156

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 172
Keywords: History of the British Museum; Museum Memoir; Ethnography in the Museum; Various Roles of a National Museum

eBook

Published: August 16, 2019
ISBN: 9781789203035