Some Revision has occurred

My thesis will be on the repatriation of non-native artifacts in small museums, 
more specifically, what should small institutions do when they do not reasonably 
have the funds to send objects back to their homes? What kinds of obligations do 
they have to these objects in regard to their care and exhibition? What can they do 
to best pay respects to these objects? With all the technology of the modern age, 
what options does this open up for them moving forward?

Using The Cazenovia Library as a case study, I will look into what museums have 
been doing with objects like these. I will be Researching not only what the Library 
has been doing with this item already, but also look to create a plan/proposal that c
an be implemented within the space to make the history of the objects transparent 
and respectful towards their origin country. Part of my plan will be to look into 
digital solutions to the situation on what can be done to further increase the 
transparency and knowledge about the items of this specific collection and 
how similar ideas could be implemented in other institutions facing a similar situation.

Sources:

David Maurice Smith, Tony Perrottet. “A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home.” 
Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution. Accessed September 26, 2019.
 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mungo-man-finally-goes-home-180972835/?
fbclid=IwAR0_PgbGW1y6B4p00sUbTPYVqUoeX_R23QFOGtkkzE6CmqKfIvltU1ClD
rY#xlj2Pjw7mFI2G0Ij.01.

This article talks about the history and discovery of Aboriginal human remains in 
Australia and the history of these remains being taken away and the more 
recent movement to give them back -- specifically highlighting the return of
 the “Mungo Man”-- one of the oldest human skeletons in good condition -- to the aboriginal people for reburial.

For my research, it doesn’t quite hit exactly what I'm looking for but I can still
 see value in it. Admittedly I’m looking very specifically at objects being returned 
over large distances whereas this one was occurring on the same continent, however, 
this article does provide some really good thoughts and narrative on why we repatriate 
and the impact of taking and returning that can be of use to me in setting up aspects of my thesis.

Green, Jack. "General Treatment: Museums as Intermediaries in Repatriation." 
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 5, no. 1 (2017): 
6-18. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/649728.

This article focuses on the repatriation efforts of a couple of different case studies of 
larger museums returning artifacts to Mediterranean countries.

This article has the potential to be very useful for me, doing a quick read through, 
I can already so in the conclusion section of the paper them talking about efforts that 
Museums can make in regards to these kinds of objects and beginning to open 
conversations up about smaller-scale museums in this sort of conversation.
 I should be able to use that to bring in some initial ideas of what steps small museums should be taking.

Day, Jasmine. "‘Thinking Makes it so’: Reflections on the Ethics of Displaying 
Egyptian Mummies." Papers on Anthropology 23.1 (2014): 29-44. ProQuest. Web. 26 Sep. 2019.

This article primarily focuses on the ethics of displaying human remains like the 
mummy in public locations, tackling both sides of the argument, being for and against it.

Considering I’m considering avenues of using technology to do make information 
on the mummy back home more transparent to the people who visit them this could 
offer me some insight on what sorts of things to be considerate of and push for in 
regards to what more exactly to do.

Cuno, James. "Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts." 
Foreign Affairs Nov 2014: 119,124,126-V. ProQuest. Web. 26 Sep. 2019 .

Cuno’s article is an argument against the repatriation of museum objects, claiming that 
returning artifacts help create a narrow sense of identities rather than and instead by 
maintaining these objects in their collections and on display they are creating ideas of
 pluralism, diversity, and the idea of a larger shared culture. Instead of giving in to calls for 
repatration they should encourage mutually beneficial relationships.

While I certainly don’t agree with the ideas of Cuno here, I do think it is beneficial to
 look at opposing viewpoints on repatriation if in my thesis I am entering that domain of conversation.