African Museums in the Making

Reflections on the Politics of Material and Public Culture in Zimbabwe

Munyaradzi Mawere, Henry Chiwaura, Munyaradzi Mawere, Henry Chiwaura

• Publisher: Langaa RPCIG
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9789956792825
• eBook ISBN: 9789956792719
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Museum Studies

One of the central theoretical and practical issues in post-colonial Africa is the relevance, nature, and politics at play in the management of museum institutions on the continent. Most African museums were established during the 19th and 20th centuries as European imperialists were spreading their colonial tentacles across the continent. The attainment of political independence has done little to undo or correct the obnoxious situation. Most African countries continue to practice colonial museology despite surging scholarship and calls by some Afro-centric and critical scholars the world over to address the quandaries on the continents museum institutions. There is thus an unresolved struggle between the past and the present in the management of museums in Africa. In countries such as Zimbabwe, the struggle in museum management has been precipitated by the sharp economic downturn that has gripped the country since the turn of the millennium. In view of all these glitches, this book tackles the issue of the management of heritage in Zimbabwe. The book draws on the findings by scholars and researchers from different academic orientations and backgrounds to advance the thesis that museums and museology in Zimbabwe face problems of epic proportions that require urgent attention. It makes insightful suggestions on possible solutions to the tapestry of the inexorably enigmatic amalgam of complex problems haunting museum institutions in Zimbabwe, calling for a radical transformation of museology as a discipline in the process. This book should appeal to policy makers, scholars, researchers and students from disciplines such as museology, archaeology, social-cultural anthropology, and culture and heritage studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• List of Contributors
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1 - Capturing the fading past and making nous of the present-future of African Museums: An introduction
• Chapter 2 - ‘Old wine in new bottles’: A critical historiographical survey of Zimbabwean museum institutions
• Chapter 3 - Community museums in Zimbabwe as a means of engagement and empowerment: Challenges and prospects
• Chapter 4 - ‘Orphans in a strange land’: Controversies and challenges in the repatriation of African cultural property from European museums
• Chapter 5 - Museum practices as perpetuators of an ideology: A Zimbabwean perspective
• Chapter 6 - ‘A shadow that refuses to leave’: The enduring legacy of colonialism in Zimbabwean museum governance
• Chapter 7 - Museums objects, relics and counter – heritage practices in postcolonial Zimbabwe
• Chapter 8 - Africanising museums on the African soil: A critique of the Western concept of keeping human remains in Zimbabwean museums
• Chapter 9 - Developing sustainable museums through ‘greening’: A case study of the Zimbabwe Military Museum
• Chapter 10 - Zimbabwean museums in the digital age: A quest to increase museum visibility in public space through social media
• Chapter 11 - Representation, reproduction and transmission of public culture in Zimbabwean museums, commemorations and festivals
• Chapter 12 - Museums, sites and the limits of representation in Africa – A case study of ‘traditional villages’ at archaeological monuments and sites in Zimbabwe
• Chapter 13 - Museums and formal education curriculum: The utilisation of museums by rural primary school pupils in Zimbabwe
• Back cover