MUSEUMS, MEMORY, AND REPRESENTATIVE POLITICS:ANTHROPHOTIC EXPERIENCE AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

This article analyzes the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in the United States as an institution of memory, a moral space, and a prime example of the politics of representation in contemporary museology. Drawing on the author’s experiences - first during the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival with a delegation of Vietnamese artisans, and later during a 2019 visit as a visiting lecturer at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz - the study employs museum observation, fieldwork photography, personal video footage, and exhibition discourse analysis to interpret the NMAAHC as a multi-material cultural text. The article demonstrates that the museum does not merely recount African American history but repositions it as an integral component of the nation’s history. Based on this case study, the article offers insights for Vietnamese museology, particularly on exhibiting ethnic minority communities through an anthropological lens characterized by participation, cultural sensitivity, and ethical responsibility.