‘Human Remains’, Or: Dignity, communal value and the construction of ‘ancestry’

I was pleasantly surprised to read an article in one of the recent newsletters from the UK Museums Association about a database of ancient ‘human remains’ collated by an organisation called Honouring the Ancient Dead (HAD). Dignity I appreciated the reference in the article to HAD’s challenge to the term ‘human remains’. According to this … Continue reading ‘Human Remains’, Or: Dignity, communal value and the construction of ‘ancestry’ →

Before I can go on

I need to write this purely personal post before I can continue. I am a firm believer in the relevance of thinking about identities, and this has featured often on my blog [1]. Unsurprisingly, I have also thought a lot about my own identities and how they connect me to others and the world around … Continue reading Before I can go on →

Handing over Power, or: Diversity in the Heritage Sector

At the start of November, the UK Art Fund published a report on diversity in the arts and heritage sectors. Specifically, the report reviews the impact of diversity initiatives on curatorial roles since 1998. However, it also makes important observations on how the current structure of museums may stand in the way of diversity – … Continue reading Handing over Power, or: Diversity in the Heritage Sector →

Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning

Our current Erasmus + project on Negotiating Identities in the Third Space is about to conclude. As I am beginning to draw together the various outputs we’ve said we would produce, I’d like to share a few observations on my own learning about Third Space during the project to date. The physical in Third Space … Continue reading Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning →

Jongmyo Jeryeak in Munich, Or: What makes intangible heritage?

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to see Jongmyo Jeryeak, the Royal ancestral ritual and music of the Korean Joseon period (1392-1910), performed in Munich by the National Gugak Center of Korea [1]. Jongmyo Jeryeak was inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. The material context of intangible heritage One of my thoughts … Continue reading Jongmyo Jeryeak in Munich, Or: What makes intangible heritage? →

On Visiting the Zeppelin Museum, Or: Storytelling History

Last week, I finally took the time to visit the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I had hoped it would be – and not just because here, too, they force you to lock up your bag, leaving you to carry what you need in your hands [1]. The exhibition The exhibition … Continue reading On Visiting the Zeppelin Museum, Or: Storytelling History →

Winnetou Revisited

Five years ago, I blogged about Winnetou as a different kind of heritage [1]. Being fully aware of the terrible cultural appropriation and stereotypes of the books and the just plain awful representations of American Indians by white actors in black wigs of the 1960s films, I ended my blog post wondering whether I would … Continue reading Winnetou Revisited →

Architecture as interpretive infrastructure

Interpret Europe has just published a little introduction to heritage interpretation for architects and landscape architects. In one of my previous roles, I was regularly in consultancy teams that included architects, so the booklet got me thinking about some of those experiences as well as architecture that I liked, both in heritage sites and in … Continue reading Architecture as interpretive infrastructure →

A different kind of aim

My organisation is currently in a joint project with a museum. In our funding application, we were very specific about our aim: to engage culturally diverse people with the Roman sites in our area. This is not with a close focus on the sites’ history but rather on people’s own current experiences in the environment … Continue reading A different kind of aim →

People with a background

Imagine the following scene, taking place in Germany: a person walks up to the hotel reception desk. The member of staff looks up and immediately switches to English: “Are you here to check out?” To which the guest responds, in German, “I speak German too.” And then they add, “In fact, I am German.” This … Continue reading People with a background →