The Contemporary Critique of Ethnographic Exhibits: A Case Study at Discovery Center Springfield

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Applied Anthropology

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology and Anthropology

Year

2010

Author dc:creator

• Scales, Megan Lynn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Elizabeth Sobel

• anthropology
• museum
• exhibit
• Osage
• reflexivity
• multivocality
• contextuality
• interactivity

Statement dc:rights

• © Megan Lynn Scales

Repository record dc:identifier

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1178

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2179