Thesis Post #6: Parting is Such Sweet "Sorrow"

I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm relieved to be done (or almost done). I'm a creature of fear, so now I have one less thing to be scared of. XD I'm still editing the thesis in preparation to submit the final document. It's been nerve-wracking and stressful, but I learned valuable things about my topic and scholarly writing. Thanks to my peers for the feedback you gave in class. I'm sure your theses are great, and I'm looking forward to reading them. :) Good luck in this final stretch!

Thesis Post #4: All This

Well...

I'm pretty sure we're all on the same page. This is a very confusing time for everyone. It's hard to get into the swing of things with all the craziness going on, but I've been trying to do coursework throughout.

A couple weeks ago, I sent some emails to request contact information for the BCM, but there's been no response so far. If they don't get back to me by the time the thesis is due, at least I have some pictures of the exhibits from the Internet. I'm thinking about changing my thesis outline to narrow the scope, since I've gotten advice from a few professors about limiting how much I am trying to cover. It makes sense.

Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the remaining days of the extended break.

Thesis Post #3: Oceans of Longing

Even though I've already passed the minimum page count for the thesis when I add together the body pages and the lit review, I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere. There are still subjects that I want to discuss that I have not gotten to yet in my paper. There are also subjects that I want to expand on. When I look at my content outline, I have only been writing for the case study section, which is at the end. My next writing goal is to zoom out to the national scale. I'm looking forward to talking about how Zimbabwean museums use technology.

Thesis Post #2: We Live in a Society

Right now, I want to start focusing on ideas related to sociology and power dynamics. I received a lot of feedback from my advisors and Dr. Lent to look into the relationship that the Tonga people have with the dominant ethnic groups of Zimbabwe, so my next step is to do that. One source that my secondary advisor recommended explains what happens when an ethnic group has to commoditize its culture for economic gain. It is possible that the BaTonga Community Museum - a state-sanctioned museum - may be contributing to generalizations about the Tonga people or making local artisans only show off traditional arts rather than contemporary ideas. I don't know what the case is yet, but I'll see as I do more research.

Thesis Post #1: Back Into the Fold

So, I've started to write the thesis, just like everyone else. I'm not as prolific as some other people, but we're getting there, I suppose. I've decided to start with the section on the history and culture of the Tonga people, since that is what I am most comfortable with. I will add citations after I finish writing, because if I try to cite as I write, it will slow me down so much that I barely accomplish anything.

I've looked into how to make contact with the BaTonga Community Museum (BCM). There's no way that I can find to make direct contact with them, but I have the name of the curator and site manager, Joshua Chikozho. Unfortunately, I cannot find an email or phone number for him. I did find his Facebook page, however. I felt that might be too informal of a way to reach out. Alternately, I tried to find the email of the author of a monograph about the BCM, Dr. Munyaradzi Mawere. He teaches at Great Zimbabwe University, so I looked for his faculty email on the website. Again, nothing. So, I will attempt to contact the BCM through the national organization, by emailing Dr. Mawere's department for his email, or by messaging Mr. Chikozho on Facebook.

Post #6: The Evolution of a Project, The Re-birth of a Child

When I first decided on this project idea, I was thinking about identifying European influences in African and Asian museums because I thought it would be interesting to see just how much European museum practices have become the standard around the world. I wanted to add some sort of practical element to it, which I why I added the part about the African and Asian museums decolonizing their practices and incorporating their indigenous cultures. I knew I had to pick a case study institution in order to focus the discussion around specific museum practices. I eventually decided on Zimbabwe as the location for my case study because their museum community is working on decolonization and promotion of indigenous cultures. I picked the BaTonga Community Museum as the case study institution because it embodied the ideals of the Zimbabwean museum decolonization movement. Even though I had my case study and nation picked out, my research question still included the wide umbrella of "African and Asian museums." I realized that it was way too broad, so now, I am only focusing on Zimbabwe.

I will probably still talk about general decolonization applications, but that will likely only happen if I compare Zimbabwean museums to museums in other countries, discuss global museum trends, or propose general courses of action in the conclusion of the thesis. As my my project progresses, I can see it evolving to include more anthropological perspectives, since I would like to dig into why culturally informed museum practices are important, and how the public can be affected by them. Depending on what I learn about various Zimbabwean museums, I may change my case study to a different museum, but as of right now, I am working with my current pick.

Post #5: The Light of Knowledge Shone Upon the Topic

Before saying what I have learned, I'll start with restating my research question, which has been recently revised, “How can African and Asian museums identify the European influences within their professional practices, deconstruct those influences, and form new models that better serve to reaffirm their native cultures?” Firstly, I have learned that Non-European museums are more willing to tackle controversial topics related to imperialism than European museums. For example, even in the French overseas territory of Reunion Island, in the planned Maison des Civilisations et de l’Unité Réunionnaise (MCUR), the staff was prepared to interpret the history of slavery on the island. Secondly, Non-European museums tend to interpret native cultural patrimony and ethnographic objects differently than European museums traditionally do. European museums have displayed these cultural objects as primitive or in such a way as to imply that the cultures that produced them are historical rather than modern. Museums in the countries/territories themselves, however, interpret their cultural objects as part of an ongoing story about the people -- the past informs both the present and the future. They want to distance themselves from a view that their cultures are primitive or dead.

Thirdly, I have learned about some of the challenges museums face in Africa and Asia. The MCUR was never ultimately created because of political backlash from the French mainland. Funding is a big problem in developing countries, where the central government does not have much money to spare to support cultural institutions. In recently independent countries, many museums face the struggle of convincing the public that they are no longer puppets of the former imperialist governments. Local communities often distrust museums because of the theft and appropriation of their cultural artifacts, and the apparent pandering to tourists. The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) is attempting to counteract these historical tensions and build relationships with communities by establishing "community museums" that promote local culture, including arts, language, and crafts. Because of the NMMZ's decolonizing efforts and culture affirmation, I have chosen one of their community museums, the BaTonga Community Museum as my case study.

I still need to learn about the sociological/anthropological reasons why it is important for a cultural group to have agency over the presentation of their own culture. It could also be interesting to look more into why communities distrust institutions. There may be some psychological and political aspects there. I also have to do more research about the history of European globalization and colonization, especially of the British in Zimbabwe.