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Translating Museums

A Counterhistory of South Asian Museology

Paperback

Published: 15th June 2012
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$65.50

Shaila Bhatti's immersive study of the Lahore Museum in Pakistan is one of the first books to offer an in-depth historical and ethnographic analysis of a South Asian museum. Bhatti thus presents an alternative example of visitor experience and museum practice to that of the West, which has been the dominant museological model to date. This examination of the Lahore Museum's objects, staff, and visitors (past and present) provides an informative case study that reveals local perceptions and uses of museums in non-Western societies to be fraught with social, political, and cultural implications and appropriations. Through Lahore, Bhatti examines the history of exchange between Britian and South Asia and advances our current understanding of what constitutes postcolonial museum interpretation and its public.

List of Illustrationsp. 11
Note on Translation and Transliterationp. 13
Abbreviationsp. 15
Acknowledgmentsp. 17
Prologuep. 19
Lahorep. 19
The Lahore Museum: Ajaib Gharp. 22
Comparative Museologiesp. 26
Museological Narrativep. 28
Museums in Translation: The Birth of the Museum in Colonial Indiap. 33
The Ajaib Gharp. 33
Museumisation of Colonial India: Making India Visiblep. 51
A Central Museum for Punjab-A Baradari, an Exhibition, and a Jubileep. 53
Baradarip. 54
An Exhibitionp. 56
The Jubilee Institutep. 68
The Lahore Museum in Indian Handsp. 74
Imperial Museum Spirit and the Trinity of the Lahore Museump. 77
Colonial Mementos to Postcolonial Imaginings: The Transformation of the Lahore Museump. 83
A National Narrative for the Ajaib Gharp. 83
Partition and Pakistanp. 86
Splitting Mementosp. 92
Curators/Caretakersp. 92
Ejaz Alip. 94
Collections/Objectsp. 97
The Chandigarh Connectionp. 99
Trapped by the Colonial Shadow: Decolonising the Lahore Museump. 101
The Islamic Galleryp. 104
The Independence Movement Galleryp. 106
The Postcolonial Prescriptive: Personalities and Ideologiesp. 112
Museum Archons: The Habitual Discourse of the Lahore Museump. 117
The Material Archivep. 117
The Lahore Museum's Museologyp. 119
The (Un)Socialised Museum: Habitual Discourse and Museopolitikp. 125
Global Consciousnessp. 125
Pakistani Museums/Museologyp. 127
Habitual Praxis and Discoursep. 131
Educating Heritagep. 135
Tours, Texts, Lectures, and Quizzesp. 138
Guided Toursp. 138
Textsp. 140
Lecturesp. 140
Museum Quizp. 141
Archival Allurep. 142
Visiting the Museum: Curiosity about the Ajaib Gharp. 145
Wandering Visitorsp. 146
Refusal of the Colonial Gazep. 152
The Zoo of Objectsp. 157
The Subjective Museump. 160
Vernacularising the Lahore Museump. 162
What Class of Visitors?p. 163
Pseudocuratorsp. 167
Familiar, Attractive, and Wondrousp. 168
History and Cultural Heritage, but Not My Identityp. 182
Nokta Nazar of the Lahore Museum's 'Audience'p. 189
Attractions and the Museum Spiritp. 190
The Museum 'Eye'p. 194
South Asian Scopophiliap. 198
Darshan/Dekhnap. 198
Nazarp. 200
Corpotheticsp. 203
Interocularp. 205
'Museums of Everyday Life'p. 207
The Everyday: Televisionp. 208
The Imaginary: Cinemap. 211
The Novel: Bazaarsp. 214
The Enduring: Saints' Shrinesp. 218
Have Museums Ever Been Modern?p. 224
Epiloguep. 227
Glossaryp. 233
Notesp. 239
Referencesp. 297
Indexp. 291
About the Authorp. 301
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9781611321456
ISBN-10: 161132145X
Series: Critical Cultural Heritage Series
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 320
Published: 15th June 2012
Dimensions (cm): 22.9 x 15.2  x 1.8
Weight (kg): 0.454