Date of Award

1-1-2016

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology

First Advisor

Christina F. Kreps, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

James LaVita

Third Advisor

Richard Clemmer-Smith

Fourth Advisor

Annabeth Headrick

Keywords

Dance objects, Exhibit analysis, Multi-sensory approach, Museums, Native voice, Reflexive analysis

Abstract

This thesis analyzes Indigenous and non-Western dance objects in museums, examining the role of theory from material culture studies, critical museology and museum education on approaches to their interpretation and display. To explore this topic, I conducted a comparative analysis of Indigenous and non-Western dance object displays at four museums - Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History in Norman, Oklahoma - investigating the use of Native voice, reflexive analysis and multisensory elements in the exhibits' organization, narrative and representational strategies. The research findings indicate that while museums have made great strides in the application of critical museum theory, as evidenced by the broader incorporation of Native voice and reflexive analysis, more needs to be done to reflect the multisensory nature of dance objects in their interpretation and display.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Kathryn Louise Brundige Grossman

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

134 p.

Discipline

Museum Studies, Cultural Anthropology

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