Science, Magic and Religion : : The Ritual Processes of Museum Magic / / ed. by Mary Bouquet, Nuno Porto.

• MitwirkendeR: Bouquet, Mary,; Fairweather, Ian,; Harvey, Penelope,; Heatherington, Tracey,; Macdonald, Sharon,; Porto, Nuno,; Saunders, Barbara,; Silva, Natasha,; Wastiau, Boris,; Wieczorkiewicz, Anna,; Wolbert, Barbara,
• HerausgeberIn: Bouquet, Mary,; Porto, Nuno,
• Place / Publishing House: New York; , Oxford : : Berghahn Books, , [2004]; ©2004
• Year of Publication: 2004
• Language: English
• Series: New Directions in Anthropology ; 23
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (288 p.)

For some time now, museums have been recognized as important institutions of western cultural and social life. The idea of the museum as a ritual site is fairly new and has been applied to the art museums in Europe and the United States so far. This volume expands it by exploring a range of contemporary museums in Europe and Africa. The case studies examine the different ways in which various actors involved in cultural production dramatize and ritualize such sites. It turns out that not only museum specialists, but visitors themselves are engaged in complex performances and experiences that make use of museums in often unexpected ways.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF FIGURES -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- INTRODUCTION: SCIENCE, MAGIC AND RELIGION: THE RITUAL PROCESSES OF MUSEUM MAGIC -- PART I OBJECTS OF SCIENCE? BABY AND THE MUMMIES -- CHAPTER 1 MEMORIALISING THE FUTURE – THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY IN MANCHESTER -- CHAPTER 2 UNWRAPPING MUMMIES AND TELLING THEIR STORIES: EGYPTIAN MUMMIES IN MUSEUM RHETORIC -- PART II SITE SPECIFICS: THE CASE OF TERVUREN -- CHAPTER 3 CONGO-VISION -- CHAPTER 4 THE SCOURGE OF CHIEF KANSABALA: THE RITUAL LIFE OF TWO CONGOLESE MASTERPIECES AT THE ROYAL MUSEUM FOR CENTRAL AFRICA (1884–2001) -- PART III ENCOUNTERS, PERFORMANCES AND UNPREDICTABLES -- CHAPTER 5 PARADISE IN THE MAKING AT ARTIS ZOO, AMSTERDAM -- CHAPTER 6 THE NATURAL MAGIC OF MONTE SAN GIOVANNI: AUTHORITY, AUTHENTICITY AND RITUAL IN SARDINIA -- CHAPTER 7 THE PERFORMANCE OF HERITAGE IN A RECONSTRUCTED, POST-APARTHEID MUSEUM IN NAMIBIA -- CHAPTER 8 HAUNTED ART: VISITING AN EXHIBIT IN WEIMAR -- PART IV DILEMMAS OF ENCHANTMENT -- CHAPTER 9 ENCHANTMENT AND ITS DILEMMAS: THE MUSEUM AS A RITUAL SITE -- NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS -- INDEX