Thinking and Doing Otherwise: Anthropological Theory in Exhibitionary Practice.

Despite the growing interest in museums and exhibitions in anthropology, there is still a sharp sense of difference (certainly in parts of Europe) between universities and museums in their practices of making and transmitting knowledge. This paper argues thatanthropological theory, in the general sense of translation, can be productively engaged in the making of exhibitions. Although scripting an exhibition goes beyond writing, various kinds of preliminary texts are crucial to exhibition makers' work. Carol Duncan recycles anthropological theory in her analysis of the art museum as a ritual site, engaging a particular notion of scripting. Two case studies explore how anthropological perspective might be used to write exhibition storylines otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]