A Paradigm Shift in African Cultural Exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History

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dc.contributor.committeeMemberKoontz, Rex
dc.contributor.committeeMemberZalman, Sandra
dc.contributor.committeeMemberConyers, James L.
dc.creatorBoeckman, Katherine Morris
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-7625-0781
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-24T19:31:02Z
dc.date.available2019-06-24T19:31:02Z
dc.date.createdDecember 2018
dc.date.issued2018-12
dc.date.submittedDecember 2018
dc.date.updated2019-06-24T19:31:02Z
dc.description.abstractAs the National Museum, the Smithsonian Institution echoes American identity and promotes U.S. values. In a 1999 article, From Dioramas to Dialogics: A Century of Exhibiting African at the Smithsonian, anthropology curator, Mary Jo Arnoldi stated that the 1967 Cultures of Africa exhibit in the National Museum of Natural History was outdated the day it opened. I examine how curators’ reluctance to abandon 19th century evolution theories for this 1967 exhibition, may have reflected one side of a cultural discourse over race that has been ongoing for most of the century. African hall displays that came before and after the 1967 installation are analyzed with coeval developments in African exhibitions outside the Smithsonian. Changes in American mainstream thought about race may be indicated in a paradigm shift in museum narratives, for the 1997 African Voices exhibition, as Africans are finally allowed to tell their own story.
dc.description.departmentArt, School of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/4083
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectAfrican Cultural Exhibits
dc.titleA Paradigm Shift in African Cultural Exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeKathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
thesis.degree.departmentArt, School of
thesis.degree.disciplineArt History
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts

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