posted on 2022-10-19, 15:11authored byHolly O'Farrell
The exhibition space is an instrument through which we understand the world and
consequently it is important to be aware of its use historically as a tool for creating systems of
power and representation. This research analyses British exhibitions of Middle Eastern (and
particularly ancient Egyptian and Persian) artefacts during the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries questioning how these exhibitions defined British self-image in response to the
Middle Eastern ‘other’. The thesis is a work of interpretation along intersectional
constructionist lines, revealing how forces such as gender, race, morality and space come
together to provide an argument for British supremacy within the exhibition space.
The position of museums as instruments of representation of display made them important
points of contact between the British national imperialist scheme and the public. Social
constructs are seen to have important roles in creating meaning and understanding in
exhibition spaces, and that these systems of power intersect with one another to create more
compelling perceptions and discourses about racial and cultural hierarchies.
This thesis reconceptualises the nineteenth and early twentieth century British exhibition
space in line with theories of social constructionism and intersectionality and illustrates that
stratification and distinction occurred through the framing of Middle Eastern cultures.
Through the employment of a constructionist lens, the research outlines a complex
relationship between British society and the Middle Eastern artefacts presented in museums
during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A dialogue emerges which has
consequences for both societies and this is achieved through intersections of gender, race and
morality in space.