What Makes an Ethnographer? Institutionalized Teaching and Informal Learning of Anthropology in Romania

The processes of disciplinary institutionalization emerged from practices of preserving written and oral documents, establishing local and national museums, and developing university courses. In the last 100 years, archives’ development assured the professionalization of scholars interested in disciplines unrepresented at the university level, such as ethnography and anthropology. After the 1990s, as the South-Eastern European countries could not imagine an alternative path of development, a westernization process emerged as the main strategy for catching-up with Western Europe. My paper discusses the institutionalized anthropological and ethnographic research agenda in Romania, questioning its relationships with other social sciences in the context of national development of ethnography as a distinct branch (e.g., from anthropology). Secondly, I argue that institutionalized ethnographic and anthropological practice in Romania during communism significantly lacked reflective assessments and development of a theoretical corpus.

Visualizing Colonial Power

The aim of this paper is to compare the ways in which some of Europe’s most important colonial museums displayed their exhibits—how colonial territories and colonial subjects were represented through visual exhibition, how the display cases were arranged, which objects and artefacts were presented and in what sequence—as the clearest possible representation of the biological, technological, and cultural superiority of Europe with respect to the populations on display. The paper will therefore emphasise both the differences and different histories as well as the similarities between colonial museums in Europe. In fact, while acknowledging that there are special features linked to the differing conditions of both the motherland and her overseas territories, a common cultural horizon can be found in the different national museums taken into consideration here and in the interpretation of the inherent propaganda such institutions promoted.

Under Construction: National Identity and the Display of Colonial History at the National Museum of Singapore and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

<p>In New Zealand and Singapore, national identity is inextricably linked to the processes of colonisation, decolonisation and the gaining of political independence. Unlike highlytheorized accounts of national identity, this study provides a deeper understanding of the ways in which it is actually developed, materialised and negotiated in 'real world' examples through history exhibitions at Te Papa and the National Museum of Singapore. The research provides a fresh perspective on recent displays of colonial history and how they shape and are shaped by the concerns of present-day nation-building particularly in former British colonies including Asia. It seeks to move beyond the existing literature which has been concerned with deconstructing national identity as a cultural construct to consider the ongoing process of updating, remaking and maintaining identity through museum display. Using a qualitative approach, this dissertation incorporates archival research, interviews, theoretical and historical literature, and visual analysis of exhibitions to contextualise and analyse the similarities and differences in the history exhibitions mounted at these two recently redeveloped museums. The Day 1 history exhibitions at Te Papa, opened in 1998, form the core of this study, while the chapter on Singapore provides an added layer of comparative depth, helping to broaden the picture of national museums and nationalism more generally. This research explores how national museums negotiate, on the one hand, the material and intellectual legacy of previous inherited definitions of 'the nation', while on the other responding to the contemporary expectations which arise from present-day conceptualizations of nations and national identity. My findings suggest that the construction of national identity is not independent from socio-political contexts, and that the political ideals of multiculturalism and biculturalism helped to foster inclusive and politically harmonious visions of national identity in the National Museum of Singapore and Te Papa. The conclusion argues that national museums' participation in the public articulation and definition of a collective idea of 'the nation' is unstable, contradictory and contested but nonetheless worthy of serious academic research.</p>

Under Construction: National Identity and the Display of Colonial History at the National Museum of Singapore and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

<p>In New Zealand and Singapore, national identity is inextricably linked to the processes of colonisation, decolonisation and the gaining of political independence. Unlike highlytheorized accounts of national identity, this study provides a deeper understanding of the ways in which it is actually developed, materialised and negotiated in 'real world' examples through history exhibitions at Te Papa and the National Museum of Singapore. The research provides a fresh perspective on recent displays of colonial history and how they shape and are shaped by the concerns of present-day nation-building particularly in former British colonies including Asia. It seeks to move beyond the existing literature which has been concerned with deconstructing national identity as a cultural construct to consider the ongoing process of updating, remaking and maintaining identity through museum display. Using a qualitative approach, this dissertation incorporates archival research, interviews, theoretical and historical literature, and visual analysis of exhibitions to contextualise and analyse the similarities and differences in the history exhibitions mounted at these two recently redeveloped museums. The Day 1 history exhibitions at Te Papa, opened in 1998, form the core of this study, while the chapter on Singapore provides an added layer of comparative depth, helping to broaden the picture of national museums and nationalism more generally. This research explores how national museums negotiate, on the one hand, the material and intellectual legacy of previous inherited definitions of 'the nation', while on the other responding to the contemporary expectations which arise from present-day conceptualizations of nations and national identity. My findings suggest that the construction of national identity is not independent from socio-political contexts, and that the political ideals of multiculturalism and biculturalism helped to foster inclusive and politically harmonious visions of national identity in the National Museum of Singapore and Te Papa. The conclusion argues that national museums' participation in the public articulation and definition of a collective idea of 'the nation' is unstable, contradictory and contested but nonetheless worthy of serious academic research.</p>

Geographical and temporal distribution of hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) species in Africa

Hawkmoths consist of species where most adults are nocturnal, but there are some day-flying genera. Hawkmoth species have a wide variety of life-history traits, comprising species with adults (mostly nectarivorous though with some exceptions, honey-feeding), but there are also species that do not feed at all. The nectarivorous species are an important component of tropical ecosystems, with significant roles as major pollinators of both crops and wild flora with the pollination done by the adult stage. Pollinators are in decline world-wide and there is need for baseline data to provide information about their conservation strategies. Species occurrence data from Museum collections have been shown to be of great value as a tool for prioritising conservation actions in Africa. The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) have a large and active entomology collection that is in continuous growth. The NMK’s collection of hawkmoths had not been digitised prior to 2017. This moth family Sphingidae includes about 1,602 species and 205 genera worldwide (Kitching et al. 2018) with the majority of these species occurring in Africa. These moth species can also be used as indicators in biodiversity assessments as they can be easily sampled and identified. However, hawkmoths have rarely been surveyed over the long term for this purpose. Long-term datasets are of unquestionable significance for understanding and monitoring temporal changes in biodiversity. These hawkmoth data have addressed one of the most significant challenges to insect conservation, the lack of baseline information concerning species diversity and distribution and have provided key historic hawkmoth species diversity and distribution data that can be used to monitor their populations in the face of climate change and other environmental degradation issues that are facing the world today. The publication of the hawkmoth species occurrence data records in GBIF has enhanced data visibility to a wider audience promoting availability for use. The hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) collection at the National Museums of Kenya was digitised from 2017 – 2020 and this paper presents details of species occurrence records as in the insect collection at the NMK, Nairobi, Kenya. The collection holds 5,095 voucher specimens consisting of 88 genera and 208 species. The collection covers the period between 1904 and 2020. The geographical distribution of the hawkmoths housed at the NMK covers East Africa at 81.41%, West Africa at 7.20%, Southern Africa at 6.89%, Central Africa at 4.02% and North Africa at 0.2%.

Uses of Oral History in Museums: A Tool for Agonism and Dissonance or Promoting a Linear Narrative?

This paper explores the potential for the deployment of oral history in the museum space to challenge hegemonic narratives on the past and enhance multivocality. Following an overview of the general merits of oral history and debates about its use in museums, we set out the arguments in favour of combining such an approach with the notion of agonistic memory. We then move to a comparative analysis between the Schindler’s Factory exhibition in Krakow and the Voices of 68 project at National Museums NI’s Ulster Museum, Belfast to explore the limitations and benefits of digital storytelling as a tool for disrupting linear narratives. In so doing, this article showcases and explains the potency of combining oral history with agonism in encouraging radical multiperspectivity that takes representations of the past beyond the curtailed benefits engendered by approaches focussed on multivocality alone.

Albanian National Museums: How to Overcome the Digital Gap Towards a Better National Heritage Promotion

Article 53 of the Vienna Convention of 1969 states that a treaty is considered invalid if it is in conflict with existing norms of jus cogens, and under Article 64 of the treaty becomes invalid if it conflicts with a norm youngest of the same nature. The case Nicaragua against the United States made clear that the notion of jus cogens is steadily entrenched in international law, however, is still necessary to determine accurately that power rates referred to in Articles 53 and 64 of the Vienna Convention. Jus cogens norms include more those norms relating to morality or natural law than with traditional positivist rates derived from State practice. In general, this includes making aggressive war, crimes against humanity, war crimes, sea piracy, genocide, apartheid, slavery, and torture.Jus cogens norms are norms of customary international law which are so important, it can not be changed through treaties. Under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, any treaty that is contrary to jus cogens norms is invalid. Jus cogens norms are not listed, there is no catalog , their determined by any authoritative body, but these rates come from judicial practices and political and social attitudes, which are not values static. Jus cogens norm of unconditional right international, accepted and recognized by the international community norm from which no deviation is permitted. Unlike the common law, which traditionally requires the consent and It lets change obligations between states through treaties, norms jus cogens can not be violated by any state "through treaties international or local regulations or special customary, or even through general rules of customary not have the same normative force.

Building Shared Guardianship through Blockchain Technology and Digital Museum Objects

This article considers the notion of shared guardianship in the context of digital museum objects and blockchain technology, arguing that this technology can contribute to the production of value in digital museum objects that goes beyond the monetary. Shared guardianship is understood to be a process of prioritizing the experience of others and forming a diverse set of stakeholders that transforms understandings around ownership; meanwhile, a blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology which can be used to identify digital files and so make them feel ownable and authentic. As such, this paper argues that blockchain technology could create a new layer of materiality and value in digital museum objects which could support the formation of shared guardianship. This question will be analysed in relation to the theoretical underpinnings of digital materiality and a case study project at the National Museums Liverpool, UK, which investigated how to implement blockchain technology in the museum context in order to produce collective ownership and meaningful, connected digital objects.

Ébli, Gábor. National Museums and Civic Patrons: Practices of Cultural Accumulation in Central and Eastern Europe. Budapest: L'Harmattan, 2020.

-