Canada’s brand of nationalism celebrates diversity – so long as it
doesn’t challenge the unity, authority, or legitimacy of the state.
In Exhibiting Nation, Caitlin Gordon-Walker explores this tension
between unity and diversity in nationally recognized museums,
institutions that must make judgments about what counts as “too
different” in order to celebrate who we are as a people and a
nation. Exhibiting Nation takes readers on a journey through three
museums, stopping to focus on exhibitions, programs, and features that
demonstrate how notions of unity in diversity can shape the way
museums engage visitors’ senses and make use of space. The Royal BC
Museum’s Modern History Galleries showcases an exhibit that both
reflects and reinforces the politics of unity in diversity, while the
Royal Alberta Museum’s Folklife/Cultural Communities program
encapsulates the politics of equality and recognition. Finally, the
spatial organization of the Royal Ontario Museum’s World Cultures
Galleries reflects a particularly Canadian notion of diversity within
a universalist or global framework. Although the contradictions that
lie at the heart of multicultural nationalism have the potential to
constrain political engagement and dialogue, Gordon-Walker concludes
that the sensory feasts on display in Canada’s museums provide a
space for citizens to both question and renegotiate the limits of
their national vision.
Les mer
Multicultural Nationalism (and Its Limits) in Canada’s Museums
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780774831666
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
University of British Columbia Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter