Cataloguing Culture
Legacies of Colonialism in Museum Documentation
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
256 pages
|
6 x 9
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
Introduction: The Making of Specimens Eloquent
1 Writing Desiderata: Defining Evidence in the Field
2 On the Margins: Paper Systems of Classification
3 Ordering Devices and Indian Files: Cataloging Ethnographic Specimens
4 Pragmatic Classification: The Routine Work of Description Post-1950
5 Object, Specimen, Data: Computerization and the Legacy of Dirty Data
Conclusion: A Museum Data Legacy for the Future
Notes; Bibliography; Index
Introduction: The Making of Specimens Eloquent
1 Writing Desiderata: Defining Evidence in the Field
2 On the Margins: Paper Systems of Classification
3 Ordering Devices and Indian Files: Cataloging Ethnographic Specimens
4 Pragmatic Classification: The Routine Work of Description Post-1950
5 Object, Specimen, Data: Computerization and the Legacy of Dirty Data
Conclusion: A Museum Data Legacy for the Future
Notes; Bibliography; Index
Review Quotes
Jane Anderson, co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Cultural Property
This is by far one of the most exciting and original examinations of the history of ethnographic museums I have come across.
Alison K. Brown, University of Aberdeen
Cataloguing Culture is a significant reflection upon the colonial ideologies embedded in the classification processes of museums. Truly illuminating.
Alissa Cherry, Museum of Anthropology at University of British Columbia
Cataloguing Culture is much needed inspiration for museum professionals and information managers to reconsider the nomenclatures and lexicons applied to Indigenous material culture. It’s a valuable resource for understanding how respectful, well-informed naming can be a meaningful step toward reconciliation. Words matter and must be chosen wisely.
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