Public lecture: Cultural heritage, museums and material culture: comparative perspectives from northern Norway and the Pacific

Event Details

Date:

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Time:

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Room:

Board Room Seminar Space

Location:

UQ Art Museum

UQ Location:

James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre (St Lucia)

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Presented by Dr Stephen Wickler, University of Tromsø, Norway

My current position as a cultural heritage ‘expert’ at Tromsø University Museum involves delegated responsibility for the preservation and curation of material culture for the Arctic region of Norway. Complex, multi-layered relationships exist within the Indigenous Sami population (coastal fisher-farmers vs. inland reindeer herders, regional language groups, etc.) and between the Sami and minority groups such as the Finnish Kven speakers who have been in the region for centuries. Relationships between Tromsø Museum and Sami, Kven and other ethnic minorities and their respective local museums are explored and critically assessed by focusing on the role of material culture. Recent research in Palau, western Micronesia has examined the failure of the current historic preservation system due to the imposition of an inappropriate Euro-American model. Community based initiatives fostering a holistic approach to heritage grounded in the centrality of ‘place’ are seen as a more appropriate alternative reflecting Palauan perceptions. I discuss parallels between the role of historic preservation in Palau and Tromsø Museum viewed in relation to Palauan community heritage initiatives and local museums in northern Norway that have been successful in expressing ‘place’ centred multi-ethnic identities.

All welcome. Followed by drinks at St Lucy’s Café at UQ Tennis Club