Call for papers: Re-Imagining the Human

The Horniman Museum have announced a call for papers for Re-Imagining the Human: Exploring Best Practice in Object-led work with Ethnographic Collections, a conference organised by the Museum and ICME (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Ethnography).

Date of conference: 28-29 November 2018

Venue: Horniman Museum and Gardens, London, UK.
Deadline for submission: 1 October 2018

Open Until:

Posted: 10/03/2022

ICME (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Ethnography) and the Horniman Museum and Gardens invite scholars and practitioners to explore innovative practices and theories in object-led work with ethnographic collections. Object-led practice can draw strongly on our ability to employ the senses to re-imagine our place in the world. In-depth engagement with ethnographic objects in particular can promote social interactions and critical reflections on the logics of power and prejudice upon which collections are constituted.

Keynote speaker Dr. Sandra Dudley will open the conference. Her research as a social and material anthropologist transects social anthropology, museum studies, and material culture studies.

We are particularly interested to hear from contributors whose research and/or practice engage with the following questions:

– How can ethnographic collections be used to examine or contest established notions of Self

and Other?

– How can dialogical and/or affective engagement with ethnographic objects promote critical

reflections on controversial issues (e.g. colonial legacies such as racism, ethnocentrism and

primitivism, memory making, gender stereotypes)?

– To what extent can imaginative engagement with objects (through poetry, drawing, drama,

dance, storytelling, music, etc) help challenge a fixed understanding of cultural identity and

promote inter and transcultural dialogue?

– How can ethnographic museums use object-led practice to strengthen community

collaboration and sense of ownership of collections?

Deadline for submission: 1st of October 2018

4 Fellowships available to cover conference fee and to match fund costs of travelling and accommodation.

Please visit the conference website for more details or email to Dr. Domenico Sergi dsergi@horniman.ac.uk and Sylvia Wackernagel sylvia.wackernagel@gmail.com

"Just to say a huge thanks ... I am looking forward to progressing with this project thanks to your support, advice and guidance"