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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:A Lack of Nation? The Evolution of History in South African Museums, c. 1825-1945
Author:Gore, J.M.
Year:2004
Periodical:South African Historical Journal
Issue:51
Pages:24-46
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:museums
nationalism
historiography
history
Ethnic and Race Relations
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02582470409464828
Abstract:This article traces the history of museums in South Africa from their formation in c. 1825 to around 1945. Focusing on the development of historical collections, and the motives behind what was and was not collected, it questions why museums developed with little interest in, or at most a narrow focus on, the human history of their own country. Arguing that museums evolved in a manner that perpetuated narrow images such as the masculine and European nature of the nation, ignoring the relevance of indigenous or everyday histories, the article also considers how various burgeoning nationalisms affected the development of nonindigenous history in the different areas and provinces in considerably diverse ways. Highlighting a gradual widening of historical consciousness, it illustrates why this has contributed to the problematic nature of national identity in postcolonial South African society. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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