The Dispersed Local and the Culture of Protocols: Dilemmas in the Co-curation of Indigenous Collections (Museums in Focus)

The Dispersed Local and the Culture of Protocols examines the issues of value and rights associated with objects housed in museum collections. Arguing that the two are closely related, Morphy focuses in particular on issues surrounding the repatriation of human remains and digital repatriation of material culture and archival material. Drawing a theoretical distinction between two `locals' - the local of the museum and the local of the source community - he explores questions such as the rights of communities of origin, the separation brought between the two by historical geopolitical transformations, and the role of museums in adding value to objects in collections.