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The National Museum of Immigration History (Paris; France): Neo-Colonialist Representations, Silencing, and Re-appropriation

Labadi, Sophia (2013) The National Museum of Immigration History (Paris; France): Neo-Colonialist Representations, Silencing, and Re-appropriation. Journal of Social Archaeology, 13 (3). pp. 310-330. ISSN 1469-6053. (doi:10.1177/1469605313501582) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:38178)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1469605313501582

Abstract

This article focuses on the Cité Nationale de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (National Museum of Immigration History – CNHI, Paris), the only national museum fully dedicated to the celebration of the positive contributions of immigrants to France. Using postcolonial theories and the notion of museum friction, it charts the conflicting processes and decisions at play in, first, the translation of the aims and goal of the CNHI into the museography and interpretation of the collections. Second, it analyses critically the usages made of this heritage space, particularly its unauthorised occupation (one of the longest unauthorised occupations of a museum in France) by illegal workers for four months, from October 2010 to January 2011. I wrote this article from the viewpoint of a second generation immigrant, one of the key targeted visitors of the CNHI. This article is also based on participant observation of each aspect of this heritage space, careful observation of its uses, and semi-structured interviews conducted with the CNHI staff, illegal workers who occupied this heritage space, and human rights organisations which supported its occupation.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/1469605313501582
Uncontrolled keywords: France, heritage, immigration museums, postcolonial representation, sans-papiers
Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation
H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Culture and Languages
Depositing User: Sophia Labadi
Date Deposited: 07 Feb 2014 10:10 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:14 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/38178 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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