This seminar will explore the changes in how diversity has been represented in historical interpretations in the past, and how practice is changing in response to the contemporary and anticipated social context of the United States. "Diversity" has historically been assumed to derive from categories such as race or culture, concepts constructed in the discipline of anthropology but taken up as the foundation for typologies in other arenas such as art history, architectural history, museums, and public policy. What is problematic in such an approach? Who defines diversity? What happens to communities defined by indigeneity, shared history, political sovereignty, and disenfranchisement? What are the implications beyond museums for those communities? Finally, how can we think differently about diversity without re-inscribing harmful constructions of difference? As suggested by the title, our focus will be on race and indigeneity as vectors of difference, but we will consider others as well. The seminar will focus on three intersecting areas of reading and inquiry:
â— Disciplinary contributions to heritage narratives
â— Deconstructing concepts, and recognizing them in heritage narratives
â— Reclaiming heritage: What are the roles of smaller, community-based organizations, practice and practitioners, as opposed to what happens in large institutions?