On Museum, Fondue and Polar Expeditions: Struggling with Swiss Cultural Heritage In Switzerland where the UNESCO convention was adopted in 2008, the term “intangible heritage” was replaced by the term “living tradition.” The list of Swiss “living traditions” counted 167 items. Among the selected traditions were not only the national cheese dish, i.e. fondue, but also famous motorbike fan gatherings in the town of Hauenstein near Solothurn, and many more. This list of traditional items was designed during a science project called “Intangible Cultural Heritage: the Midas Touch?”. In response, in 2013, the Ethnography Museum in Neuchatel took for the subject of its exhibition entitled “Hors-Champs” everything that usually stays beyond such classifications, and also the need of doing such a classification itself. The idea that underlies this exhibition is that defining heritage is a process that in fact freezes it, and freezes the living culture. This paper gives a look on Swiss thoughts on heritage, a look that is based on the Neuchatel exhibition and on the interview with its authors that was conducted during the museological research in 2013.
A presentation of selected issues causing tension surrounding the ethnographic museum and related to the necessity of renewing the role of this institution, especially in the context of social changes: decolonization, newly defined centre-periphery relations, the increasing role of inclusive processes of various communities linked to ethnographic collections, and the broad activities of the Museum. The analysis was based on material collected by means of case study research in thirteen European ethnographic museums between 2013 and 2023 (found materials, communication, interviews). Referring to Achille Mbembe’s philosophical concept related to the Afrofuturism trend known as “the ethics of the passer-by” the text proposes a change in the way museum authority is created.
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Artykuł jest prezentacją wybranych zagadnień, które powodują napięcia wokół muzeum etnograficznego, a związanych z koniecznością odnowienia roli tej instytucji, zwłaszcza w kontekście przemian społecznych: dekolonizacji, nowo definiowanych relacji centrum–peryferie, zwiększania się roli procesów włączających różne społeczności powiązane z kolekcjami etnograficznymi i szeroką działalnością muzeum. Analiza została oparta na materiałach zebranych podczas badań metodą studium przypadku w trzynastu europejskich muzeach etnograficznych w latach 2013–2023 (materiały zastane, komunikacja, wywiady). Powołując się na powiązaną z nurtem afrofuturyzmu koncepcję filozoficzną Achille’a Mbembego, nazywaną „etyką przechodnią”, autorka proponuje zmianę sposobu wytwarzania autorytetu muzealnego.
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