The material presented in this project is aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates who are interested in:
It is impossible in one short project to look at all of these aspects in detail, but they are covered at least in outline, and future reading and other sources are suggested.
Ideally, students should have some knowledge of the generally available texts in the thematic area of interest to them (e.g. history of anthropology, field collecting, ethnographic museum studies).
Overall method by which the project was prepared
The starting-point for the whole project was the wish to show students how to critically assess museum displays and historical anthropological and ethnographic texts and exhibits. It was decided to concentrate on one of the world's most important nineteenth-century ethnographic, that of Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. This was the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford although the current displays contain many items which have been donated by other people since 1884, when the Museum began.
Having decided upon the themes of the presentation, a large number of relevant quotations and papers were assembled which present a particular viewpoint or range of views about the issue of debate. These have been supplemented by original research undertaken in the Museum and also by suggestions for further reading. The quotations are often given at some length, and a few are very large. The texts of each particular part of the project might not necessarily require contextualization from the teacher before perusal by the student. All students would benefit from reading the original sources in full but in all cases the quotations have been selected which most clearly summarise, so far as the project originators are concerned, the author's views on the particular subject. The quotations are mainly given without editing or comment so that the student may make up his or her own ideas about the material presented.
The selection of the quotations and papers has, to an extent, been arbitrary, and it may well be that the lecturer can think of a number of other sources that are relevant. The field of enquiry is so large, and the number of potential intellectual avenues of exploration so great, that no project could hope to be all-encompassing. One useful topic to explore beyond the electronic material itself, might be the extent to which this project illustrates the 'Oxford' view of anthropology, material culture and museum ethnography.
The level of supervision and direction will depend upon the lecturer (and students) concerned. The Pitt Rivers Museum has not suggested any particular essays or discussion topics arising from the material, as we do not wish to limit the potential ways in which the material may be used.
Where possible the material has been supplemented by illustrations, mostly of the Museum, museum artefacts (in particular those referred to in depth), and other related material. These images have been scanned in at a level which should make the image clear on the monitor but which will not allow the images to be freely used in other publications.
Arrangement of the material
We hope that we have arranged the material in a way which will allow a number of avenues to be explored easily and without needless repetition. The best place to start is with the overall home page, which shows the main strands or themes highlighted above and the pathways by which the information can be sought. The titles should be self-explanatory.
The starting-point for the project was the catalogue that Pitt Rivers published in 1874 about part of his collection then on display at Bethnal Green Museum (then part of the South Kensington Museum, now called the V&A). We selected part of this publication which gives details of 38 shields (mostly parrying shields), from Australia, Africa, India, Malaku (the Moluccas) and the Solomon Islands, which were displayed on Screen 2. All of these shields were later transferred to the Pitt Rivers Museum (as part of the founding collection given to the University of Oxford in 1884 by Pitt Rivers). The project uses this catalogue as the starting-point to explore the background to the catalogue and the collection, including currently available information about the shields. A wide range of contextualizing material has also been provided based upon the general themes outlined in the introduction to this teacher's guide.
Copyright
If any users of this project wish to use any image presented in it as part of a publication they are asked to seek permission the Museum directly giving full details of the image they wish to use and the proposed publication. All images and text are copyrighted to the Museum except for those whose copyright permission has been given by others. Note that in all cases copyright permission has solely been given for this project and users in individual departments need to obtain separate copyright permission in the usual way. If you are unclear about who the copyright of a particular image or text used in the project belongs to then please contact
Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing,
Department of Anthropology,
Eliot College, The University of Kent,
Canterbury,
CT2 7NS, UK.
Tel. (44) 01227 764000 Ext. 3360 (or 823360 direct)
Fax (44) 01227 827289
or
The Director, Pitt Rivers Museum, South Parks Road, Oxford. OX1 3PP (01865 270928).
Comments on the content, presentation or use of this project should be addressed to:
Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing,
Department of Anthropology,
Eliot College, The University of Kent,
Canterbury,
CT2 7NS, UK.
Tel. (44) 1227 764000 -Ext. 3360 (or 823360 direct)
Fax (44) 1227 827289