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Veranstaltungen

Colonialism, Material Culture and Museum Collections

  • 18. Mai 2026  –  22. Mai 2026  |  10:00 Uhr
  • Museum Fünf Kontinente
    Maximilianstr. 42
    80538 München

  • For centuries, European scholars and explorers travelled the world in search of unfamiliar landscapes, peoples and cultures. During the colonial period, collecting human remains, everyday objects and ritual artefacts became common practice, often to demonstrate perceived differences between Europeans and the peoples they encountered. Many of these objects were taken without the consent of their original communities and brought to Europe for scientific or educational purposes. Today, they continue to shape how non-European cultures are represented in museums. Developing decolonial perspectives therefore requires placing these objects within their local, colonial and transnational contexts. The Spring School at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is part of the research project From Collection to Collaboration: Revisiting the Colonial Philippine Collection of Heinrich Rothdauscher (1851–1937) at the Museum Fünf Kontinente in Munich. Between 1873 and 1883, the German pharmacist Heinrich Rothdauscher lived in the Philippines and collected numerous artefacts. After returning to Germany, he donated 112 objects to the Royal Ethnographic Collection in Munich, forming one of the earliest Philippine collections in Germany. The Spring School explores how colonial collections can be interpreted and presented today, addressing questions of historical violence, cultural significance and innovative approaches to museum exhibitions.
  • Wissenschaftliche Veranstaltung
  • By Invitation only
  • A collaboration between the Bavarian Academy for Sciences and Humanities and the Museum Fünf Kontinente