Conflicting Histories of Alexandria, or Alexandrians with No Museum (1892-2016)
Museums of history are also research objects for historians. Museography can be analysed in order to reconstruct the museology and the historical narrative it shapes. This contribution explores the narratives of the two main museums of history in Alexandria: the Greco-Roman Museum, which was founded...
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| Publicado no: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ema, |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
| Publicado em: |
Égypte/Monde arabe
2018
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| Assuntos: | |
| Acesso em linha: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Resumo: | Museums of history are also research objects for historians. Museography can be analysed in order to reconstruct the museology and the historical narrative it shapes. This contribution explores the narratives of the two main museums of history in Alexandria: the Greco-Roman Museum, which was founded in 1892, and the National Museum of Alexandria, which opened in 2003. After putting their foundation into context, it analyses their collections, settings and visitor itineraries to retrace their conception of the Alexandrian past, present and future. The opposition between the two, highlighted by the Egyptian Antiquities at the beginning of the 21st century, points to an unresolved tension between colonial and post-colonial discourses. Yet, it is argued that both institutions provide an account of Alexandrian history that forgets Alexandria itself. Whether Eurocentric or Cairo-centric, their narratives do not take into account the city’s local reality and population. This is even more striking since 2011, when the lack of approaches from below has widened the gap between the history of the museums and the history of the Alexandrians. |
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