Museums

Reviews / Votes

Museums: A Visual Anthropology is a strong contribution to anthropological literature on museums, visual
and material culture, methodologies, and fieldwork ... All in all, this book does a fantastic job of navigating the sometimes nebulous world of museums, their inner workings, and the way these processes and practices shape public experience. -- Adam Solomonian, University of British Columbia, UK * Museum Anthropology * Mary Bouquet's clear and comprehensive Museums: A Visual Anthropology moves the reader carefully through an array of issues at the intersection of museum studies, material culture studies, and anthropology ... Bouquet's clear writing provides a valuable guide and sophisticated introduction through important issues in museums, thoughtfully integrating historical trajectories with contemporary questions ... A thorough and thought-provoking volume, Museums: A Visual Anthropology presents a solid foundation for understanding the museum as a site of knowledge-production in and across cultures -- Adrian Van Allen * Museum Anthropology Review * This book is an essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between museums and visual anthropology. The exploration of a variety of theoretical issues, the use of diverse methodological approaches as 120 well as the introduction of international case studies makes this book relevant to any museum environment and a useful teaching tool. -- Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Cyprus University of Technology * Visual Studies * Mary Bouquet's book is a thoughtful, impressive work, incorporating several histories: those of museums, anthropology, collecting and display and colonialism. It is particularly crucial for its international perspective which is absent from most studies of the subject. * Nan Rothschild, Director of Museum Studies, Columbia University * Museums: A Visual Anthropology is a must-read for anyone trying to map out the complex field of museum studies and museum anthropology. Bouquet summarises a vast literature, drawing on case-studies from multiple geographical regions debates, and presenting a specifically European perspective. This is an eloquent and comprehensive survey of the historical trajectories and pressing concerns that inflect contemporary museum practice. * Haidy Geismar, Assistand Professor, Anthropology and Museum Studies, New York University. * An excellent introduction to the field ... Bouquet's stimulating book opens the way for a future discussion on the repatriation of objects and it presents many good examples of why we should keep studying museums and their histories. -- Johan Hegardt, Swedish History Museum * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *