The Museum of Other People (eBook)

A delight from the first to the last page [which] raises questions that could lead to ways out of the dilemmas ... The juxtapositions of the different positions, which Adam Kuper presents very pointedly, clarifies the arguments with a sharpness that I have rarely experienced. It will certainly provoke dissent, but that is what the discipline (especially in its museums branch) thrives on (or should thrive on) ... Wonderful

A level-headed survey of the rise and fall of anthropological and ethnographic collections and what their futures may hold ... Kuper steers a pragmatic course through these perilous waters

A formidable work ... one whose want has been much felt

This is the must-read book for anyone interested in the history of ethnographic museums and how the urban public of Western industrial nations learned about the myriad "other people" living on our planet. Kuper applies his monumental knowledge of the history of anthropological scholarship to lay out his vision of how the ethnographic museums were born, thrived, and eventually moved to the margins of public imagination. Yet, as he rightly claims, big ethnographic museums face new beginnings in the 21st century ­- ones defined by creative exhibits, ethical stewardship, and modern education about lives and cultures of world's "other people"

Material for thought ... Nothing beats reading this book, without bias but with a sort of peaceful objectivity, sometimes polemical

Adam Kuper shows in his engaging new overview of the Western world's ethnology/antiquities/natural history museums that the issues of identity and ethics with which these key cultural institutions wrestle today have very deep roots indeed. His book is obligatory reading for anyone interested in the complexities of international repatriation, the boundaries of "art," and the role of museums in the modern world

An excellent, comprehensive tour through one of the most important and influential schools of anthropological theory

A vibrant cultural history ... Kuper's deeply researched [and] vigorous examination of ethnography and anthropology museums ... brings an authoritative perspective

A magnificent, moving survey ... Kuper's case is strong and his voice - erudite and elegiac - commands respect

A provocative look at questions of ethnography, ownership and restitution ... should be required reading for the trustees of big museums everywhere