Museums, Collections and Social Repair in Vietnam

Museums, Collections and Social Repair in Vietnam analyses the relationship between museums, collections and social repair in contemporary Vietnam.
Drawing on fieldwork in a range of museums in the country, alongside interviews with museum workers and stakeholders, and analyses of museum exhibitions, the book explores how museums help ordinary people overcome loss suffered during conflict. Focusing on key objects in museum collections that elicit strong emotions or feelings, Graeme Were examines their relationship to social repair and transformation, in order to understand what mobilises survivors, families and communities to recover and re-evaluate memory and give prominence to grievances and loss or future hopes and aspirations. Arguing that nationalist frameworks no longer adequately account for the diverse agendas of Vietnamese museums, this book brings into question the dynamics between history and memory; the capacity of the museum to repair injury, loss or suffering; and the limits of historical memory beyond the control of a one-party state.
Museums, Collections and Social Repair in Vietnam analyses the role of museums in transforming lives and creating a just future. It will be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of museums, heritage, Asia, tourism and anthropology.

List of contents

1. Introduction: Museums, Collections and Social Repair; 2. Museums, Maritime Threats and Witnessing; 3. Museums, Relics and the Work for the Dead; 4. Museums, Documents and Social Repair; 5. Museums, Testimony and Curating the Dead; 6. Conclusion: Re-making the Future; Index

About the author

Graeme Were is Chair and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol. His research interests include museums, heritage and material culture, and he has a regional specialism in Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.

Summary

Museums, Collections, and Social Repair in Vietnam analyses the relationship between museums, collections, and social repair in contemporary Vietnam.

Product details

• Authors: Graeme Were, Graeme (University of Bristol) Were, Were Graeme
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.08.2022
• EAN: 9781032187907
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3218790-7
• No. of pages: 104
• Series: Routledge Research on Museums and Heritage in Asia
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Travel > Travel guides; History, Cultural Studies, Asia, Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides, ART / Museum Studies, HISTORY / Asia / Southeast Asia, Social groups, Health & personal development, Social Work, Regional Studies, Regional / International studies, Regional Geography, Health, Relationships and Personal development, Museology & heritage studies, Museology and heritage studies, Travel guides: museums, historic sites, galleries etc, Social groups, communities and identities