Laura Verstappen Representing Cultural Diversity Non-Western
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Laura Verstappen 10889302 Representing Cultural Diversity Non-Western Ethnographic Collections in the Culturally Diverse Netherlands Master Thesis University of Amsterdam Humanities Department Arts and Culture: Cultural Analysis Supervisor: Elmer E. P. Kolfin 2nd Reader: Thijs Weststeijn 24 August 2015 1 Representing Cultural Diversity Representing Cultural Diversity 2 Representing Cultural Diversity Contents Introduction 5 Parameters of the research question 6 Parameters of the research 7 Chapter 1: The History and Composition of Ethnographic 11 Collections in the Netherlands 1900-1990 15 Museum Profiles 18 Conclusions 22 Chapter 2: The History and Composition of Immigrant 24 Populations in the Netherlands Immigrant categories 25 Current Composition of the Immigrant Population in the Netherlands 28 Integration into Dutch Society 31 Chapter 3: Diversity Policy in Ethnographic Museums 33 A Historical Relation 34 Government and Museum Policy 38 Immigrant population-related programming of 44 ethnographic collections, 2011-2015 Conclusions 48 Chapter 4: Discussion 50 Conclusion 59 Bibliography 60 Appendix 1: Inquiry format 65 3 Representing Cultural Diversity List of tables and illustrations Figure 1.1: Map of the colonies, trade posts and main countries of 12 origin of the immigrant population Table 2.1: Total immigrant population in the Netherlands, 2014 28 Table 2.2: Composition of the non-Western immigrant population 28 in the Netherlands, 2014 4 Representing Cultural Diversity Introduction Two years ago I was living in the multi-cultural South of London and working as an intern in the ethnographic department of the British Museum. I became aware of a parallel between the Museums’ ethnographic collection and the cultures of local immigrants and asked to what extent the British Museum concerned itself with this context. Upon inquiry Harvinder Bahra of the Community Partnership Team of the British Museum told me that they had recently started to address the Museum’s relation to local communities, including immigrant populations of cultures that were represented in the collection. She told me her team had been instated in 2009 as part of a new trend in museums. Specialized divisions as well as existing departments had started investigating and developing relations with local population sub-groups (Bahra). When I moved back to the Netherlands, I exported my interest. Visiting Dutch museums always gave me a great sense of pride of the Dutch cultural history, art, scientific accomplishments, taste and the seeming willingness to acknowledge less admirable qualities. An image, of course, that is carefully directed by the museums: ‘conductors of our national memory.’1 Nevertheless, they shaped my cultural self-image and how foreign friends perceived my culture. I have always assumed that other cultures need similar points of reference for their (self-)image and sense of community. It follows that immigrant populations who had left the prime examples of their cultural heritage in their homelands would have difficulty defining their own culture, and so would ‘others’ in their new environment. What then, of the foreign ethnographic collections that are already in the Netherlands? Can they serve as a cultural backbone for the immigrant populations and as a repository for their new hybrid cultures? It is an ambitious question with many facets, too ambitious in fact for a one-year master program in the Department of Literature.2 Still, I would like to make a start. In this thesis I investigate whether ethnographic museums in the Netherlands have the capacity to represent the cultural background of the immigrant population with ethnographic collections. Leaving many issues out, I have formulated four questions that will be answered in four respective chapters: 1 De Jong ,“Dirigenten”. 2 At the University of Amsterdam 5 Representing Cultural Diversity 1. What is the current composition and origin of ethnographic collections in ethnographic museums in the Netherlands? 2. What is the current composition and origin of the Dutch immigrant population? 3. How do ethnographic museums represent the immigrant population with their ethnographic collection? 4. Discussion: Is there room for improvement? At the outset of my research I expected to find less correspondence between the collections and the population than in the British Museum. Based on previous visits to ethnographic museums in the Netherlands I was sceptical about the prominence of the cultures of the immigrant population. My initial impression was that the ethnographic museums were preoccupied with the far and wide and had little interest in the different cultures that lived right under their noses. Parameters of the questions A museum, in the definition of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is ‘a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.’3 An ethnographic museum specializes in material and immaterial culture that is relevant to the systematic study of people and cultures also known as ‘cultural anthropology’ (Kottak 5,9). 4 This thesis looks at explicitly ethnographic museums, volkenkundige musea in Dutch.5 Their practices will be analysed in light of their history and a changed demographic. The research questions could be applied to any type of museum, but because ethnographic collections are inherently linked with the study of cultures the question of cultural representation seemed all the more poignant there.6 In order to make a comparison with museums with other types of collections the focus will be only on their ethnographic collection.7 3 Museum is an unprotected term (Museum Vereniging “Museum Definitie”), this is the updated definition according to the ICOM Statutes, adopted during the 21st General Conference in Vienna, Austria, in 2007. 4 Anthropology is the study of mankind in general. It includes biological or physical anthropology and cultural anthropology. Ethnology is the comparative analysis of multiple cultures (Kottak 5,9). 5 In reality the translation of ‘ethnography’ is not as straightforward. A more refined definition relevant to the Netherlands will be given in Chapter 1. 6 Most art museums in the Netherlands also hold small to significant ethnographic collections, but have been left out of the equation because of their art historical, rather than ethnographic, approach. 7 This applies to the Museon, Den Haag and the Universiteitsmuseum, Groningen. 6 Representing Cultural Diversity The four research questions will be discussed in four respective chapters. The first two chapters treat the composition and origin of the subjects. First those of ethnographic collections in ethnographic museums in the Netherlands; second, those of the Dutch immigrant population. I will also discuss the historical and political contexts, which I presumed to be important factors. The discussion of the composition of the immigrant population will be subject to the categories that are used in the field of human geography and will therefore be defined mostly in terms of nationality. In the Netherlands an immigrant is defined as a person born outside the Netherlands. The Dutch term allochtoon is used to describe people who were born outside of the Netherlands or who have one or two parents that were born outside the Netherlands (CBS “Begrippen”). English literature generally does not distinguish the allochtoon population, but differentiates between first and second generation immigrants – second generation referring to children of immigrant parent(s). I will adopt the English term immigrant to refer to both generations of the allochtoon population. In the third chapter I ask how the composition of ethnographic collections in Dutch ethnographic Museums is related to the current composition of the country’s immigrant population and interpret the findings of the first two chapters. How museums represent immigrant cultures is discussed against the political background. This chapter makes use of policies and reports to surmise the discourse and activity that originate from the museum and its collection. Initiatives originating from the immigrant population are not included unless they are organized as a museum. This was necessary because I was unable to access sufficient information on the specific input and perspective of representatives from all the immigrant populations, and its discussion would have surpassed the range of this thesis. The final chapter was conceived to vent my passion for the subject after a strenuous journey through museums, libraries and piles of documentation. It presents arguments for the relevance of cultural representation in ethnographic collections. Furthermore, it compares the findings with existing literature and with the way another museum deals with immigrant cultures. In answer to the fourth research question it critically assesses the capacity of the museums to provide a cultural backbone for the immigrant population. Parameters of the research The question that I had on the outset – can ethnographic collections serve as a cultural backbone for the immigrant population? – beckons far and wide answers, but I have had to confine the research field with more specific questions. Nevertheless, in dealing with an interdisciplinary subject I have taken on an interdisciplinary approach. During my bachelor degree I