Africans in Museums

Catalog description

Have museum exhibits about Africans challenged or reinforced stereotypes. This course will explore the history of museum exhibits about Africa and Africans located in Western Europe, the United States, and Africa itself. While the course focuses closely on content from African history, its themes speak to broader concerns about representing minority groups and under-studied topics in public history. The first half of the course considers the intersections between evolving western ideas of Africa and colonial era museum projects that promoted as well as protested colonial policies. In the second half of the course, we will explore the roles of new museum exhibits in both European and United States contexts along with museums and heritage sites in Africa. Throughout the semester, we will also discuss questions and practicalities associated with doing public history, including conducting ethical research, the interplay of memory and public history, and the potential of various historical sources (oral, archaeological, visual, and linguistic).