Introduction

Global and World Art in the Practice of the University Museum provides an update to the institution defined by the partnership of the university and the museum. The meaning of cultural objects infused with the history, heritage, and identity of what is now considered as a "global culture" has been developed through innovative approaches made by university scholars, museum curators, and administrators since the latter part of the twentieth century. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses one of the most significant collections of African art in South Africa, exploring how the University of Witwatersrand Art Museum in Johannesburg grew from a small teaching collection begun in the 1950s. It provides an update to art historical practices by returning to the foundational European institutions of art history and anthropology in order to track the shifting boundaries of exhibitions of art and science.