ABSTRACT
Urry (1990) is much more positive about the changing nature of museums, especially the proliferation of plural histories (e.g. social, feminist, ethnic, industrial, populist) that are being increasingly represented. Some examples of this will be discussed later in the chapter. He argues that museum displays have become much less ‘auratic’, and he is largely positive about the replacement of ‘dead’ museums with ‘living’ ones. However, it could be argued that museums have not yet gone far enough in their representation of plural histories. As stated by Porter (1988: 104), ‘museums have been slow to take up issues such as racism, class bias, and sex discrimination, either as employing institutions, or as a medium which propagates a particular and pervasive brand of history.’ For example, Porter supports Horne’s (1984) contention that traditionally museums have been patriarchal and that representations of women tend to be stereotyped. Carnegie (1996) is critical of the
The Te Papa Tongarewa Museum is located in Wellington, New Zealand. The government has made a substantial investment in this new national museum, and hopes to encourage all New Zealanders to visit at least once in their lifetime, as well as promoting it as an international tourist attraction.
