Date Thesis Awarded
4-2019
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Art and Art History
Advisor
Susan Webster
Committee Members
Mark McLaughlin
Alan Braddock
Patton Burchett
Abstract
In this thesis, the Hindu devotional object will be tracked through many contexts and its role will change based on its geographic and cultural location. First, the original ritual context will be established, paying specific attention to ceremonial processes and actions that activate the objects. Next, I will sketch the approaches to interpretation used in the two museum spaces. In this movement between spaces, the Hindu object is de- and then re-contextualized. Museums can discover from this narrative the many ways that meaning is constructed, within and outside of a Western framework. It is this pivotal period of re-contextualization that forms the basis of my inquiry and my argument. My recommendations for gallery design and interpretation will focus on moments of translation of Hindu objects as they move between contexts and on ways to increase transparency surrounding the translation processes at work in permanent galleries. Only through a decolonization not just of the museum but of the museum experience itself can Hindu objects be re-contextualized in a manner that regains their vitality and captivation.
Recommended Citation
Efkeman, Emma, "(Re-) Staging Translation: Meaningful Interaction with Hindu Devotional Objects in the Western museum" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1369.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1369
