ISEN-ASTC-L Archives

Informal Science Education Network

ISEN-ASTC-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM
Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
Re: Mummy madness: Museum exhibits lure crowds
From:
Len Adams <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informal Science Education Network <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 6 Aug 2010 09:09:00 -0700
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (119 lines) 
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Personally the Bodies type shows creep me out.  In relation to NAGPRA there is something unsettling about seeing people from your own ethnic background on display in a manner that is completely out of context with how those on display lived their lives.  Something akin to see Sitting Bull tour with a wild west show in the late nineteenth century.  I'm curious what feelings run through people of Chinese heritage as they see prisoners from their former country on display doing things they never did in real life.  I see similarities between trotting Sitting Bull around an arena and seeing a former Chinese prisoner posed as if throwing a football.
 
 - Len
 


>>> Beryl Rosenthal <[log in to unmask]> 8/5/2010 5:39 PM >>>
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Some of you may be aware of the politics around NAGPRA, the Native American Grave protection and Repatriation Act.  It is complicated, and important in that it brings another player to the table, representatives of First Nations people.  This only applies to Federally recognized communities.  There are holes re: who is a legitimate rep ( must be chosen by the group not the Feds), what to do about nonextant groups (closest culturally related group), etc.  It gets very complex, but the ultimate goal is communication and partnership.

I am curious that no one has mentioned the plasticized bodies that had us talking a few years ago...

Beryl

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 5, 2010, at 6:42 PM, JEFF <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> *This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
> Peter - that's precisely what concerns me:  what we engage in is rationalization.  For instance, if the assertion that human remains are only of meaning to the living, isn't the inference that if those remains have no meaning to me, I have no obligation to respect them?  Which, of course, is part of what led to their cavalier treatment in earlier times.  So called primitives, such as the Egypitans were inferior to Victorians - so, who cares?  And not treating these remains with regard to the context of when they were living beings, seems, at least on some level, disingenuous.  If its not ok to dig up my grandfather, what about my great-grandfather, or my great-great?
> 
> I remember in Dallas a few years back, during expansion of a highway, a graveyard was discovered.  I don't remember the details, but these were lost humans - there were no markings and no existing records to tell us who was buried - yet there was collective agreement to rebury the bones and create a memorial of sorts.  What does that say about the notion of no one being alive to identify with these bones?
> 
> Contemplation, as you suggest, is a powerful component of the experience.  I, for one, would not hesitate to take my two boys to see this show - it is an unusual opportunity to talk about meaning.
> 
> Jeff Courtman
> Museumscapes
> 
> 
> 
> On Aug 5, 2010, at 4:06 PM, Peter A Anderson wrote:
> 
>> *This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>> 
>> Jonah,
>> 
>> Here's a rationalization of the issue of exhibiting human remains, for your contemplation:
>> 
>> 1.  Human remains mean nothing to the dead - only to the living.
>> 
>> 2.  If there's no-one alive who identifies themselves with a specific human remain, no-one can be diminished by exhibiting it.
>> 
>> 3.  The contemplation of rituals surrounding human remains is a powerful thought-provoking and learning experience for most people.
>> 
>> Peter Anderson
>> 
>> -- 
>> 1449 Grant Street, Victoria  BC  V8R 1M4
>> T/F  250 592 3332
>> Cell 250 885 6724
>> 
>> ***********************************************************************
>> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>> 
>> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
>> 
>> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
>> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
>> 
>> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
>> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
>> [log in to unmask]
> 
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
> 
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
> 
> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
> 
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
> [log in to unmask]

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

*************************************************************************************
This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information. It has been scanned for viruses. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination, use, review, disclosure, or distribution of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is unauthorized and may be illegal.
**************************************************************************************




***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]

ATOM RSS1 RSS2