RELI 4002 - Curating Islam in New York City

The Anticolonial Museum acknowledges some of the consequences of colonialism in the current work of museums. Looking at museum theory in a critical way, it proposes a radical revision of museums' rhetoric on decolonisation, as well as their public image and practices. Bringing together a collection of reflections on decolonisation through the observation of museum performance and discourse, the author considers current practices in response to the social claims of marginalised groups and activists. Drawing from a genealogy of decolonial thinking in museology, Brulon Soares identifies the inherent paradoxes reflected in museum work. The book's focus is not exclusively on the reality of colonised countries, nor on the context of former imperialist nations--instead, it raises anticolonial questions, finding common ground between the different actors involved in the museum: scholars, students, curators, practitioners, community members and Indigenous creators. One of the central aims of this book is to view the museum as a locus for multiple enunciations, thus identifying in museum practice the active possibility of reconnecting subjectivities and restoring material fluxes to effectively repair the bonds that have been frayed by colonialism and an expanding modernity. The Anticolonial Museum will be of great interest to researchers and students engaged in the study of decolonisation. It will also be essential for practitioners who wish to reconsider the impact of coloniality on their own position and everyday practice.

Beverly Serrell presents the reader with excellent guidelines on the process of exhibit label planning, writing, design, and production. One of the museum field's leading consultants and label writers, Serrell's 1996 edition of Exhibit Labels has been a standard in the field since its initial publication. This new edition not only provides expert guidance on the art of label writing for diverse audiences and explores the theoretical and interpretive considerations of placing labels within an exhibition, it also features all new case studies and photographs and thoughts about interpretation in digital media. Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach is a vital reference tool for all museum professionals.

Drawing upon material from Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Making Representations explores the ways in which museums and anthropologists are responding to pressures in the field by developing new policies and practices, and forging new relationships with communities. Simpson examines the increasing number of museums and cultural centres being established by indigenous and immigrant communities as they take control of the interpretive process and challenge the traditional role of the museum. Museum studies students and museum professionals will all find this a stimulating and valuable read.