Thus our display will be honest but may be controversial”. Exhibiting pre-history during the South African democratization process

Bibliographic Data

ID7339356
AuthorsCecilia Rodehn (0000-0001-8139-2701, Uppsala University, corresponding author)
Year1970
Issue2
Pages33-33
Publication date1970-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNordisk Museologi (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1103-8152 • E-ISSN: 2002-0503
PublisherUniversity of Oslo Library (PUBLISHER • NO)
DOI10.5617/nm.3077
OpenAlexW1510613351
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

This paper seeks to re-describe democratization of heritage by focusing on controversies connected to the work with the exhibition entitled Stories of People’s History in Southern Africa staged at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum (South Africa). The investigation is based on archival material as well as participant observation and qualitative interviews. The material is analysed using performance theory and theories about democratization processes. The article comes to the conclusion that a focus on curatorial performances reveals controversies and developments that fall outside the traditional conceptualization of a democratization process. The text argues that this focus assists in moving beyond the binary position that democracy and “non-democracy” have received in scholarly publications. The text proposes that a democratization of heritage involves an entanglement of ideas and values. It does not necessarily involve a “better” heritage but instead an appropriation from a different political perspective

Appropriation · Conceptualization · Democracy · Democratization · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Sociology · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Computer Science · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Law · Philosophy · South African History and Culture

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