DB1: Historical Groundings and Future Horizons: The Heritage of Pacific Museum Studies
Tracks
1
| Tuesday, December 1, 2026 |
| 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM |
| RHLT1 |
Paper / Session Submitter
Dr Christina Kreps
Professor Of Anthropology
University Of Denver
Historical Groundings and Future Horizons: The Heritage of Pacific Museum Studies
Summary Abstract
In this session, panelists discuss a book project that seeks to position Pacific-centered theorizing and writing about museological and heritage topics within the wider intellectual history and genealogy of museum and heritage studies. Its aims are to make early work accessible to a wide range of users and contribute to on-going efforts to broaden and diversify scholarship in this discipline. The goal is to bring voices from the past into the present and place them in dialogue with contemporary thinking, writing, and practice. Panelists will engage the audience in a discussion centered on several key questions How do we define “Pacific/Pasifika/Moana Oceania” and “Indigenous” authors? How has the project been informed by Indigenous and decolonial methodologies, and worked within the framework of “cultural interface”? How do these methodologies help produce a fuller, more multi-layered account of museums, galleries and heritage rather than continue straddling epistemic divides and producing alternative readings?
Biographies
Christina Kreps. Professor of Anthropology, Director Museum of Anthropology and Museum and Heritage Studies, University of Denver, USA. Christina has conducted research on Indigenous museology in Indonesia and the USA and participated in numerous museum development and heritage training programs in Indonesia,Thailand, and Vietnam.
Conal McCarthy. Professor and Director of Museum and Heritage Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. International leader in the field of museum and heritage studies and scholar. Conal McCarthy has conducted extensive research and published on Maori museology as well as on contemporary trends in critical heritage and museum curatorship.
Bryony Onciul. Associate Professor of Museology and Heritage Studies and Visiting Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia. Has conducted extensive research and published widely on collaboration between museums and Indigenous communities in Canada. Is currently engaged in an mulit-year project on Indigenous communities and climate change in British Columbia.
Dr Awhina Tamarapa (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruanui) is a Māori curator, researcher and writer. She is a specialist in taonga Māori exhibitions, collections research, and a broad range of cultural practices. She has degrees in Anthropology, Māori Laws and Philosophy, Museum and Heritage Studies.
