The recent scholarly critique of ethnographic museum exhibits clearly calls for greater incorporation of four main principles: reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity. Unfortunately, many if not most current exhibits on culture do not incorporate all or any of these principles. Consequently, most ethnographic exhibits are less representative and respectful of the presented culture, and less educational and engaging for visitors than they otherwise might be. For this thesis project, I addressed this problem by designing an ethnographic exhibit on the Osage Nation that incorporates reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity for the WorldWise gallery at Discovery Center in Springfield, Missouri. I carried out this project by collaborating with the Osage Nation, researching Osage culture, and gaining feedback from Osage Nation representatives, Discovery Center museum staff, and anthropologists at Missouri State University.
","abstract_html":"<p>The recent scholarly critique of ethnographic museum exhibits clearly calls for greater incorporation of four main principles: reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity. Unfortunately, many if not most current exhibits on culture do not incorporate all or any of these principles. Consequently, most ethnographic exhibits are less representative and respectful of the presented culture, and less educational and engaging for visitors than they otherwise might be. For this thesis project, I addressed this problem by designing an ethnographic exhibit on the Osage Nation that incorporates reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity for the WorldWise gallery at Discovery Center in Springfield, Missouri. I carried out this project by collaborating with the Osage Nation, researching Osage culture, and gaining feedback from Osage Nation representatives, Discovery Center museum staff, and anthropologists at Missouri State University.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Scales, Megan Lynn"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Applied Anthropology","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Sociology and Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Elizabeth Sobel"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:11Z","subjects":["anthropology","museum","exhibit","Osage","reflexivity","multivocality","contextuality","interactivity"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Megan Lynn Scales"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1178","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Elizabeth Sobel"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Scales, Megan Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology and Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Applied Anthropology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anthropology","museum","exhibit","Osage","reflexivity","multivocality","contextuality","interactivity"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Megan Lynn Scales"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1178"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The recent scholarly critique of ethnographic museum exhibits clearly calls for greater incorporation of four main principles: reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity. Unfortunately, many if not most current exhibits on culture do not incorporate all or any of these principles. Consequently, most ethnographic exhibits are less representative and respectful of the presented culture, and less educational and engaging for visitors than they otherwise might be. For this thesis project, I addressed this problem by designing an ethnographic exhibit on the Osage Nation that incorporates reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity for the WorldWise gallery at Discovery Center in Springfield, Missouri. I carried out this project by collaborating with the Osage Nation, researching Osage culture, and gaining feedback from Osage Nation representatives, Discovery Center museum staff, and anthropologists at Missouri State University.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Contemporary Critique of Ethnographic Exhibits: A Case Study at Discovery Center Springfield"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Elizabeth Sobel"],"dc:creator":["Scales, Megan Lynn"],"dc:description.abstract":["The recent scholarly critique of ethnographic museum exhibits clearly calls for greater incorporation of four main principles: reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity. Unfortunately, many if not most current exhibits on culture do not incorporate all or any of these principles. Consequently, most ethnographic exhibits are less representative and respectful of the presented culture, and less educational and engaging for visitors than they otherwise might be. For this thesis project, I addressed this problem by designing an ethnographic exhibit on the Osage Nation that incorporates reflexivity, multivocality, contextuality, and interactivity for the WorldWise gallery at Discovery Center in Springfield, Missouri. I carried out this project by collaborating with the Osage Nation, researching Osage culture, and gaining feedback from Osage Nation representatives, Discovery Center museum staff, and anthropologists at Missouri State University.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1178"],"dc:rights":["© Megan Lynn Scales"],"dc:subject":["anthropology","museum","exhibit","Osage","reflexivity","multivocality","contextuality","interactivity"],"dc:title":["The Contemporary Critique of Ethnographic Exhibits: A Case Study at Discovery Center Springfield"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology and Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Applied Anthropology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:11Z"}