| BOOK LAUNCH: WORDS MATTER |
| Thursday 28 June 2018 | Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam |
The Research Center for
Material Culture cordially invites you to an evening on repairing,
refusing and re-imagining language to mark the launch of our publication
WORDS MATTER.
Recent controversy in the Netherlands surrounding whether museums
should change the titles of some of their paintings and refrain from
using discriminatory words in wall texts or catalogues is in part the
lead up to this publication and symposium series. The emotionally and
politically charged nature of discussions in the media surrounding the
proposed changes should persuade anyone in doubt that words matter, that
language matters. This is not an issue for just a small group of
experts, but an ongoing dialogue between colleagues, neighbors,
strangers and friends. It is a discussion that is embedded in a larger
societal dialogue that debates issues of citizenship, belonging and
representation in The Netherlands and beyond.
Indeed, it is not just words that matter: the perspectives or the
position from which one writes or displays also matters. In this
context, it is important to interrogate our personal and institutional
relationships to categories, terminologies and meanings. To whom does
language belong? In what ways can language become more inclusive to
those who have been marginalized or excluded within our societies and
institutions? Who is included in or excluded from ‘modern’,
non-‘Western’, ‘traditional’, ‘us’ and ‘them’? And what is the correct
pronoun to describe someone who self-identifies as transgender?
The publication WORDS MATTER is the physical manifestation of the
museum’s long-term commitment to becoming a more inclusive institution
and is the result of multiple, long-term projects that aim to dissect
and dismantle some of the complex contested words, stereotypes and
concepts that are present not only in cultural institutions, but also in
the media and society at large. The symposium is a critical celebration
and a stage for artists, academics and the audience to question,
refuse, provoke and engage (with) contested languages and their presence
within our institutions, societies and relationships.
The program consists of two events: a day program for heritage
professionals and cultural producers, and an evening program for general
audience.
Program
• Ogutu Muraya (Writer and Storyteller)
• Astrid Roemer (Writer)
• Eliza Steinbock (Leiden University)
• Kira Wuck (Poet)
• Simone Zeefuik (Writer and cultural programmer)
Practical Information
Where: Tropenmuseum, Linnaeusstraat 2, Amsterdam
When: Thursday 28 June 2018, 19:30 – 21:30
Admission: € 8 (incl. publication) - Get your tickets here
Language: Dutch and English |
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