William Westerman’s Lecture on Museums, Refugees and Multiculturalism on October 6, 2015

On October 6 at 14.15 Prof. William Westerman (New Jersey City University, USA) will give a lecture on "Museums as a Space for the Inclusion of Refugees, and Other Experiments in Multiculturalism". The lecture will take place in von Bock's Building (Ülikooli 16) room no. 212.

Prof. William Westerman is a distinguished folklorist, whose research interests include folk arts, civic engagement and migration. He has worked extensively with immigrant and refugee communities in the US and in Europe and has curated exhibitions at several museums.

Dr. Westerman's visit to Estonia is made possible through the generous support from the Embassy of the United States in Tallinn.

Lecture abstract:

The current European refugee "crisis" has opened up discussion of immigration in Europe that are fascinating to those on the other side of the Atlantic. This paper looks at the roles that museums can play and are playing in countries whose identity is based on a tradition of immigration, such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Earlier views and programs that incorporated multiculturalism tended to put immigrant and ethnic cultures on display in ways that served to promote tolerance while paradoxically reinforcing distance and exoticism.

Nonetheless, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of recent immigrants and refugees has provoked discussion of longtime, sometimes multi-generational immigrant communities in France and Germany, and questions of social, cultural, and economic integration. This paper does not intend to discuss the current European climate, but in fact argues that museums are cultural spaces that can be used for more than just exotic displays. For museums and communities interested in working with refugee communities, in particular, the paper considers ways that the museum's mission, actions, and relations with a more inclusive public can be redefined.

All are very welcome!

Video recording of the lecture is available at the UTTV video server.