11. Mini talk 2/28/2019

I enjoyed learning about the museum of mankind this past lecture. The lecture reminded me of topics I had learned in other classes such as my biology class and a history of medicine class I had taken last year. I thought it was interesting to gain a perspective from more of an anthropology mindset. I have always found anthropology interesting and enjoy watching media that have characters and topics related to anthropology. I think it is important to know how people lived and were treated. I also think it is very important to know what has happened historically and the dark corners of each field that are present.

Alice Conklin spoke about the Museum of Man which belongs to the Museum of Natural History.  The original structure is very old but was renovated in the 30s. The museum has artifacts from primitive cultures around the world. French explorers over time kept bringing back artifacts and adding to the museum until it was practically filled. During the renovation in the 30s, it became more scientific. Dr. Conklinn spoke how the museum was using racialized science but was also one of the first places to begin to question this way of looking at science. I enjoyed her presentation on the Museum of Man and am excited to see the museum as it is today, now knowing the history of the museum itself.

I thought Dr.Conklin’s discussion was very interesting from how instead of simply talking about the Musee de l’Hommee’s, she made it a point to relate it to the time period at which the changes occurred in the museum’s history. By doing so, I was able to gain more context into aspects of the museum. One such example includes the display of skulls that the museum has. These skulls were a popular aspect back when it was believed that brain size corresponded to race. By providing such context, I additionally learned about how looking for physical differences between races used to be a rather large area studied in science that was quite controversial. Additionally, I learned about helpful things about French culture for when I visit, such as how France is a center for racial sciences, a fact which would explain the types of artifacts that are found in various museums in France and bring me more awareness when viewing them.

I really enjoyed listening to Alice Conklin talk to us about Musée de l’Homme. It was interesting to hear about the history of the building and how it became to be what it is today. It was helpful to hear about the artifacts included in the museum and how their presentation has progressed through time. I found it interesting to talk about race and how the talk of and use of race is different than what Americans see it as. This talk made me feel like I can appreciate the work, history and beauty behind the museum even more when we visit.

Alice Conklin had an interesting talk about the about the Muse de l’homme in Paris. She talked about the topic of “scientific racism” in depth, and how the setup of the museum, both interiorly and exteriorly, has changed. I found it particularly interesting when she talked about how in the past, people tried to collect human remains from around the world and measure the size of the skulls to look into racial science. Scientists found no evidence that racial difference exists on a biological level. I’m intrigued to learn about how different races are acknowledged or unacknowledged in other countries around the world.

I enjoyed every part of the discussion of the museum that Dr. Conklin gave. I figured it would just be a brief overview of what was in store for when we visited, but it got to be much deeper than that, delving into past European racial issues both socially and scientifically. I think this was my favorite part of the discussion, as it was easy to pay attention to as well as an unexpected talking point.

This was a fun little talk as the speaker was very knowledgeable about the subject and was able to give us insight into the past, present, and potential future of the museum and other museums that were ethnological museums. It was interesting to see how over time the museum became more organized and relevant artifacts became more identified and researched. It was also intriguing to see her discuss how the audience views a display may not be what the “author” intended.

Alice Conklin talked to us about the Musee de L’Homme meaning the Museum of Human Kind in Paris, France. She also mentioned some of the history and culture of France. When first opened, the museum displayed African, North American and Asian artifacts usually these artifacts were taken from places that colonized by France. Initially, the museum was very overcrowded. The artifacts were displayed not by their use but what was appeasing to the eye in an artistic way which was interesting. I never had really thought about how museums came to be or how they were set up initially. Alice mentioned that the museums had no real order at first and skulls were just mixed in with random artifacts. I did not know that France was the capital of racial science. France led the way to discover and prove that there is no biological hierarchal difference between races. This was proven and all other countries believed it, yet Hitler still used it to help back-up ethnic cleansing. I was surprised by this aspect because you don’t usually hear about that specifically in relation to WWII. I am interested in seeing how the museum compares to the earlier one Alice described to the one we see today!

I thought it was interesting that there was never segregation in France. They are not racist except for the time during World War 2 when the Jews were segregated. It was also cool to find out that this museum was renovated to be able to see the Eiffel Tower clearly from inside with many windows. The outside portion is also one of the best places to see the Eiffel Tower.

A side note that caught my attention during this talk was that they also did a lot of experiments on human brains and skulls to prove their is a difference in race even though there is no race. This was also during a time when pseudoscience was becoming a more popular science.

I thought it was interesting how she was fluent in french and was able to write an entire book in another language about a scientific topic. Not in english and french but solely in french. She mentioned how the modernist movement began in Paris when artists rejected realist paintings. I liked the story of Josephine Baker bringing jazz music and dance to Paris. Not only was she more accepted in Paris, but she brought inspiration for a new era of art and music. I feel that some local cafes have a jazzier atmosphere, but without her influence, I wonder what they would be like. She mentioned how museums had a main concern based on “how to know when the display is hierarchical.” Although there can be many African American statues, a single white man statue in the center can bring controversy to racial bias. The museum has changed throughout the years and I am intrigued to see it now compared to what she told us about it.