Legacies of Collecting, Collaboration and Co-production: The British Museum and West Africa

合作和共同制作通常被视为20世纪70年代后殖民主义博物馆实践的标志。例如，今天，大英博物馆的非洲项目已经开发出了基于对话和交流的博物馆合作模式。然而，在1945年至1970年之间，博物馆民族志部门的工作人员已经与西非非殖民化国家的博物馆和个人合作：博物馆赠送和出售物品，以支持该地区的发展中组织;在西非的实地考察期间交换资源和专业知识，非洲人类学家访问伦敦，分享知识并接受培训。例如，Richard Nunoo，他成为加纳国家博物馆的第一位非洲馆长，在1954- 55年期间在BM的民族志部门工作了六个月。探索在博物馆人类学这个关键但未充分研究的点上产生的收藏和解释以及发展起来的实践。聚焦于尼日利亚或加纳（由学生决定），它会问：在该国独立的25年（1945-1970）中，BM和其他博物馆与西非个人/机构合作的性质是什么？发展这个中心的研究问题，学生将调查的方式，其中那些在西非影响的内容和解释的BM在这个时候（反之亦然），如何合作作为专业实践改变了在这一时期，以及国家建设的影响在西非（和英国）在这一过程中。通过与学生确定的其他英国/欧洲机构进行比较，该项目还将询问BM在其合作活动中是否独特，或者是更广泛的世纪中期趋势的一部分。在这些关键的历史问题的基础上，学生还将调查：这段历史的遗产在今天的收藏护理方面是什么？对欧洲博物馆（如BM）与西非个人/机构之间合作基础的丰富理解如何支持博物馆目前的合作活动？来自BM档案馆的年度报告和其他内部文件，皇家人类学研究所的William Fagg论文，以及加纳国家博物馆或尼日利亚国家博物馆的档案将构成本研究的主要资源。计划：Y1：在大英博物馆进行文献回顾/档案研究，并对其他英国机构进行调查;对欧洲机构及其与非洲博物馆的关系进行二次研究;在大英博物馆进行藏品管理系统培训。1年末2年初：在加纳或尼日利亚工作2个月，分析档案/进行访谈。Y2的剩余部分：回到BM，巩固对BM和选定的英国机构的历史和最近合作实例的理解。学生3：写研究报告以备考试。

Collaboration and co-production are often seen as hallmarks of post-1970s, postcolonial museum practice. Today, forexample, the British Museum's (BM) Africa Programme has developed models for working with museums based ondialogue and exchange. Yet between 1945 and 1970 staff in the BM's Department of Ethnography were already workingwith museums and individuals in the decolonising nations of West Africa: the BM gifted and sold objects to supportdeveloping organisations in the region; resources and expertise were exchanged during fieldwork in West Africa, andAfrican anthropologists visited London to share knowledge and gain training. For example, Richard Nunoo, who becamethe National Museum of Ghana's first African director, spent six months attached to the BM's Department of Ethnography,1954-55.With a focus on the BM, this CDP will investigate this mid-century period of UK museum collaboration with individuals andinstitutions in West Africa, exploring the collections and interpretations that were generated and the practices that weredeveloped at this critical but understudied point in museum anthropology. Focusing on either Nigeria or Ghana (to bedecided by the student), it will ask: What was the nature of BM and other museum collaboration with individuals/institutionsin West Africa in the 25 years surrounding the country's independence (1945-1970)? Developing this central researchquestion, the student will investigate the ways in which those in West Africa influenced the contents and interpretation ofthe BM at this time (and vice versa), how collaboration as professional practice changed over this period, and the impact ofnation-building in West Africa (and in the UK) on this process. Through comparison with other UK/European institutions tobe identified by the student, the project will also ask if the BM was unique in its collaborative activities or part of wider mid-century trends. Building on these key historical questions, the student will also investigate: What is the legacy of this historyin terms of collections care today? How can enriched understandings of the foundations of collaboration between Europeanmuseums, such as the BM, and West African individuals/institutions support museums' collaborative activities in thepresent?Annual reports and other internal documents from the BM's archives, the William Fagg papers at the Royal AnthropologicalInstitute, and the archives of the National Museum of Ghana or National Museum of Nigeria will form the main resourcesfor this research. The student will have scope to identify further relevant archives/collections, and to define the nature of'collaboration' via their investigations.Plan: Y1: literature review/archival research at the BM and survey of selected other UK institutions; secondary research onEuropean institutions and their relationships with African museums; training in BM collections management system. End ofY1 and start of Y2: 2 months in Ghana or Nigeria, analysing archives/conducting interviews. Remainder of Y2: return to theBM to consolidate understanding of historical and recent instances of collaboration at BM and selected UK institutions. Y3:write up research for examination.