Colonialist Narratives in Natural History Museums: The case of the Giancarlo Ligabue Natural History Museum in Venice

Abstract

Natural history museums are important spaces where people go to learn. However, the way in which information is communicated can not only influence the understanding of visitors but also covertly disseminate certain ideas based on the exhibition itself. In this light, recurrent elements in the perception of non-human animals that reinforce some ideologies such as colonialism, ableism, racism, Eurocentrism and progress can be found. For this reason, the analysis of how museums communicate is crucial to determine intrinsic narratives at work - and if so help them to be places where these dynamics can be outclassed. In this thesis, a specific place is taken into consideration - the trophy rooms of the Natural History Museum of Venice - to see if and how much a colonialist narrative is present. Through the analysis of the space management, the terminology used, and the arrangement of the elements, the goal is to consider the key elements of the rooms and see what implications they entail: do words recall ideas of European superiority? Are animals seen only as objects or also as individuals? Is the point of view of the communities from which the "finds" have been subtracted present? Is there enough contextualization? Comparisons and possible changes are also proposed, in order to give a concrete outcome. This analysis could be used for communication present in other rooms and/or other museums, in order to encourage reflection on the social role of natural history museums.