The Herrenhausen Symposium "Museum of Cultures, Wereldmuseum, Världskulturmuseet,... What Else? Positioning Ethnological Museums in the 21st Century"

The Herrenhausen Symposium "Museum of Cultures, Wereldmuseum, Världskulturmuseet,... What Else? Positioning Ethnological Museums in the 21st Century" by the Volkswagen Foundation in cooperation with Deutscher Museumsbund discusses the need for a critical appraisal of the past, present, and future of ethnological museums.

The symposium which will take place from June 21-23, 2015 in Hanover, Germany is looking early career researchers to participate. 

Rooted in the curiosity cabinets of the Enlightenment, ethnological museums experienced an enormous boom during the colonial period. The collections assembled in those past times continue to characterize the exhibits of ethnological museums today, causing the need for a critical appraisal of the past, present, and future of this particular genre of museum. The symposium will address topics like the history of museum collections, provenance research, the special case of "restitution", different forms of cooperation as well as how these aspects can become part of ethnographic exhibitions.

Travel Grants

The Volkswagen Foundation offers 15 Travel Grants for young researchers who wish to attend the symposium. The deadline for application is March 15, 2015. For more information on the application process, please visit the website.